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on Human Capital and Human Resource Management |
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Issue of 2007‒02‒03
eight papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini Universita degli Studi di Roma, La Sapienza |
| By: | Frenette, Marc |
| Abstract: | In this study, I explore the relationship between the presence of a local university in a city and university and college participation among local youth. The evidence is drawn from Census data, along with information on the creation of new university degree-granting institutions in Canada. Students who do not have access to a local university are far less likely to go on to university than students who grew up near a university, likely due to the added cost of moving away to attend, as opposed to differences in other factors (e.g., family income, parental education, academic achievement). When distant students are faced with a local option, however, their probability of attendance substantially increases. Specifically, the creation of a local degree-granting institution is associated with a 28.1% increase in university attendance among local youth, and large increases were registered in each city affected. However, the increase in university participation came at the expense of college participation in most cities. Furthermore, not everyone benefited equally from new universities. In particular, students from lower income families saw the largest increase in university participation, which is consistent with the notion that distance poses a financial barrier. Also, local aboriginal youth only saw a slight increase in university participation when faced with a local university option. |
| Keywords: | Education, training and learning, Outcomes of education |
| Date: | 2007–01–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2006283e&r=hrm |
| By: | Axel Dreher (Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich); Michael J. Lamla (Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich); Sarah M. Rupprecht (Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich); Frank Somogyi (Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes whether the educational and professional background of a head of government matters for the implementation of market-liberalizing reforms. Employing panel data over the period 1970-2002, we present empirical evidence based on a novel data set covering profession and education of more than 500 political leaders from 73 countries. Our results show that entrepreneurs, professional scientists, and trained economists are significantly more reform oriented. Contrary, union executives tend to impede reforms. We also highlight interactions between profession and education with time in office and the political leaning of the ruling party. |
| Keywords: | Reforms, Economic Policy, Economic Freedom, Interest Groups, Lobbying |
| JEL: | D72 E61 H11 |
| Date: | 2006–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:06-147&r=hrm |
| By: | Hoshino, Taeko |
| Abstract: | Indigenous firms in Mexico, as in most developing countries, take the shape of family businesses. Regardless of size, the most predominant ones are those owned and managed by one or more families or descendent families of the founders. From the point of view of economics and business administration, family business is considered to have variety of limitations when it seeks to grow. One of the serious limitations is concerning human resource, which is revealed at the time of management succession. Big family businesses in Mexico deal with human resource limitations adopting measures such as the education and training of the successors, the establishment of management structure that makes control by the owner family possible and divisions of roles among the owner family members, and between the owner family members and the salaried managers. Institutionalization is a strategy that considerable number of family businesses have adopted in order to undergo the succession process without committing serious errors. Institutionalization is observed in such aspects as the establishment of the requisite condition to be met by the candidate of future successor and the screening by an institution which is independent of the owner family. At present these measures allow for the continuation of family businesses in an extremely competitive environment. |
| Keywords: | Family business, Ownership, Management, Succession, Mexico, Home-based businesses, Family concern, Human resources, Industrial management |
| JEL: | K22 L22 M12 M13 |
| Date: | 2006–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper12&r=hrm |
| By: | Axel Dreher (Department of Management, Technology, and Economics, ETH Zurich); Peter Nunnenkamp (The Kiel Institute for the World Economy); Rainer Thiele (The Kiel Institute for the World Economy) |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically analyzes the impact of aid on education for about 100 countries over the period 1970-2005. We estimate a system of equations to test whether and to what extent the impact of sector-specific aid on educational attainment depends on (i) the extent to which aid adds to overall educational expenditure of the recipient government, (ii) the strength of the link between government expenditure and education, (iii) the quality of institutions in the recipient country, and (iv) whether aid encourages institutional reforms. According to our results, aid significantly increases primary school enrolment. This result is robust to the method of estimation, employing instruments to control for the endogeneity of aid, and the measure of institutional quality employed. The degree of institutional quality, however, has no robust impact on this relationship. |
| Keywords: | Aid effectiveness, Education, Sector-specific aid |
| JEL: | F35 O11 H52 I22 |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:06-146&r=hrm |
| By: | Spyros Arvanitis (Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research (KOF), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates (a) the determinants of innovation performance and (b) the impact of innovation performance on labour productivity of Swiss manufacturing firms in the period 1994-2002. The data used in this study come from the KOF panel database and were collected in 1996, 1999 and 2002 respectively based on a questionnaire quite similar to that used in the Community Innovation Surveys (CIS). The use of a wide spectrum of indicators helps to test the robustness of the specification of the innovation equation as well as the robustness of the impact of innovation on economic performance. We find a clear-cut positive effect of innovation on labour productivity. |
| Keywords: | innovation, labour productivity, R&D expenditures |
| JEL: | O30 |
| Date: | 2006–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:06-149&r=hrm |
| By: | Fementira, Graciana B. |
| Keywords: | Rural life improvement, Human resource development, Quality of life, Rural societies, Human resources, Philippines |
| JEL: | I3 R1 |
| Date: | 2006–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper20&r=hrm |
| By: | Charles Beach (Queen's University); Alan G. Green (Queen's University); Christopher Worswick (Carleton University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how changes in immigration policy levers actually affect the skill characteristics of immigrant arrivals using a unique Canadian immigrant landings database. We first review the Canadian experience with a point system as part of its immigrant policy. Section III of the paper describes some overall patterns of immigrant arrivals since 1980. Section IV identifies some relevant hypotheses on the possible effects on immigrant skill characteristics of the total immigration rate, the point system weights and immigrant class weights. The "skill" admissions examined are level of education, age, and fluency in either English or French. Regressions are then used to test the hypotheses from Canadian landings data. It is found that (i) the larger the inflow rate of immigrants the lower the average skill level of the arrivals; (ii) increasing the proportion of skill-evaluated immigrants raises average skill levels; (iii) increasing point system weights on a specific skill dimension indeed has the intended effect of raising average skill levels in this dimension among arriving principal applicants; and (iv) increasing the proportion of skill-evaluated immigrants appears to have the strongest effects among the immigration policy levers. |
| Keywords: | immigration policy, points system, Canadian immigration |
| JEL: | J0 J6 |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:wpaper:1115&r=hrm |
| By: | Machikita, Tomohiro |
| Abstract: | We examine the effects of learning by migrating on the productivity of migrants who move to a “megalopolis†from rural areas using the Thailand Labor Force Survey. The main contribution is to the development a simple framework to test for self-selection on migration decisions and learning by migrating into the urban labor market, focusing on experimental evidence in the observational data. The role of the urban labor market is examined. In conclusion, we find significant evidence for sorting: the self-selection effects test (1) is positive among new entrants from rural areas to the urban labor market; and (2) is negative among new exits that move to rural areas from the urban labor market. Further, estimated effects of learning by migrating into a “megalopolis†have a less significant impact. These results suggest the existence of a natural selection (i.e. survival of the fittest) mechanism in the urban labor market in a developing economy. |
| Keywords: | Self-selection, Learning by migrating, Survival of the fittest, Exits, Thailand, Population movement, Labor market |
| JEL: | D83 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2007–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper82&r=hrm |