nep-hrm New Economics Papers
on Human Capital and Human Resource Management
Issue of 2010‒11‒27
eight papers chosen by
Fabio Sabatini
Euricse

  1. The level of human capital in innovative firms located in China. Is foreign capital relevant? By Li Shu; Aurora A.C. Teixeira
  2. Determinants of Further Training: Evidence for Germany By Grund, Christian; Martin, Johannes
  3. Immigrant Over- and Under-education: The Role of Home Country Labour Market Experience By Piracha, Matloob; Tani, Massimiliano; Vadean, Florin
  4. Family Background and Economic Outcomes in Japan By Ken Yamada
  5. The role of schools in the production of achievement By Maria E. Canon
  6. Financial Development, Entrepreneurship, and Job Satisfaction. By Bianchi, Milo
  7. The Demand for Skills and the Labor Cost in Partner Countries: Evidence from the Enlarged EU By Alessia LO TURCO; Aleksandra PARTEKA
  8. An exploratory analysis of the relationship between social interactions, income and health in Italy By Fiorillo, Damiano; Sabatini, Fabio

  1. By: Li Shu (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto); Aurora A.C. Teixeira (CEF.UP, Faculdade de Economia, Universidade do Porto; INESC Porto; OBEGEF)
    Abstract: Studies on the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Chinese economy have essentially focused on the relationship between FDI, productivity and economic growth, revealing a tendency toward sectoral and macroeconomic empirical studies. This work aims to complement these approaches and contribute to the rather limited literature on the relationship between FDI, Human Capital and Innovation at a corporate level. Based on a set of large and innovative firms (national and foreign capital) located in China, we have concluded that: i) the direct impact of foreign capital on the level of human capital in firms is negative, that is, no evidence was found suggesting that FDI has a positive influence on their human capital; ii) in indirect terms, by means of investment in R&D activities, FDI has a positive impact on general human capital (i.e., formal education). These results suggest that for China to benefit from FDI, it is necessary to implement a selective policy to attract FDI, taking into account more technologically advanced projects.
    Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational firms; Human Capital; R&D; China
    JEL: F21 F23 J24 O32
    Date: 2010–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:391&r=hrm
  2. By: Grund, Christian (University of Würzburg); Martin, Johannes (University of Würzburg)
    Abstract: Based on a German representative sample of employees we explore the relevance and development of further training in private sector firms. We focus on formal training and explore possible individual and job-based determinants of its incidence. We also show changes over time during a 20 year observation period from 1989 to 2008. Most hypotheses are supported by the empirical evidence. Job status and firm size are the most relevant characteristics for training participation. Furthermore, our analyses reveal a general trend of rising training rates from 1989 to 2008 indicating an increased importance in the German labor market.
    Keywords: further training, GSOEP, human capital, panel data
    JEL: M53
    Date: 2010–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5315&r=hrm
  3. By: Piracha, Matloob (University of Kent); Tani, Massimiliano (Macquarie University, Sydney); Vadean, Florin (University of Kent)
    Abstract: The cause of immigrant education mismatch in the host country labour market might not necessarily be discrimination or imperfect transferability of human capital, as argued in previous studies. Immigrants who have gained professional experience in the home country in jobs below their education level might be assessed by host country employers as having lower abilities and skills than those expected from their educational qualifications. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia we show that a significant part of the variation in the immigrants' probability to be over-/under-educated in the Australian labour market can be explained by having been over-/under-educated in the last job in the home country.
    Keywords: immigrants, education-occupation mismatch, sample selection
    JEL: C34 J24 J61
    Date: 2010–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp5302&r=hrm
  4. By: Ken Yamada (School of Economics, Singapore Management University)
    Abstract: The difference in family background is an important source of economic inequality. This paper examines the effects on educational attainment, labor market outcomes, and family formation of family background, such as sibship size, gender composition of siblings, birth order, parental education, maternal age at birth, and parental income, for Japanese women. We nd that family background affects years of education, the completion of university degrees, participation in private tutoring school and enrichment courses, wages, occupational prestige, marriage, and fertility. We also show that the impact of family background on educational attainment has increased for recent decades.
    Keywords: Turnout, sibling composition, family background, intergenerational transmission
    JEL: J12 J13 J24 J31
    Date: 2010–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:siu:wpaper:26-2010&r=hrm
  5. By: Maria E. Canon
    Abstract: What explains differences in pre-market factors? Three types of inputs are believed to determine the skills agents take to the labor market: ability, family inputs and school inputs. Therefore to answer the previous question it is crucial to understand first the importance of each of those inputs. The literature on the production of achievement has not been able to provide an estimation that can take the three factors into account simultaneously at the student level. This paper intends to fill this gap by providing an estimation of the production function of achievement where both types of investments (families and schools) are considered in a framework where the inputs are allowed to be correlated with the unobserved term, ability to learn. I do that by applying Olley and Pakes’ (1996) algorithm which accommodates for endogeneity problems in the choice of inputs for the production of achievement and by using parents’ saving for their child’s postsecondary education to control for the unobserved component (i.e. ability to learn) in the production of skills. The estimates for the role of family inputs are in line to previous findings. Additionally, the estimates of school inputs show that they are also important for the formation of students’ skills even after controlling for ability to learn.>
    Keywords: Education - Economic aspects ; Education
    Date: 2010
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2010-042&r=hrm
  6. By: Bianchi, Milo
    Abstract: This paper shows that utility differences between the self-employed and employees increase with financial development. This effect is not explained by increased profits but by an increased value of non- monetary benefits, in particular job independence. We interpret these findings by building a simple occupational choice model in which financial constraints may impede the creation of firms and depress labor demand, thereby pushing some individuals into self-employment for lack of salaried jobs. In this setting, financial development favors a better matching between individual motivation and occupation, thereby increasing entrepreneurial utility despite increasing competition and so reducing profits.
    Keywords: Financial development; entrepreneurship; job satisfaction;
    JEL: L26 J20 O16
    Date: 2010
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:dauphi:urn:hdl:123456789/5067&r=hrm
  7. By: Alessia LO TURCO (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Economia); Aleksandra PARTEKA (Universita' Politecnica delle Marche, Dipartimento di Economia)
    Abstract: We analyse the consequences of trade integration in Europe (1995-2005) detecting how the labor costs in partner countries affects the demand for domestic high- and low-skilled labor in the EU-15 and five new member states. In general, independently on the skill level, the results hint at complementarity between domestic and foreign labor. However, the demand for the high skilled in New EU members' low skill intensive sectors is boosted by the increase of the average labor cost in Old EU members, thus hinting for these sectors at the high skilled in New member countries substituting for labor in Old EU.
    Keywords: EU integration, labor markets, trade
    JEL: F15 F16 J31
    Date: 2010–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anc:wpaper:348&r=hrm
  8. By: Fiorillo, Damiano; Sabatini, Fabio
    Abstract: This paper carries out a preliminary and exploratory investigation into the effect of various types of social interaction on health in Italy. After controlling for household income, education, work status and a number of socio-demographic variables, we find that the frequency of meetings with friends is significantly and positively associated with self-perceived health. The frequency of visits with relatives has a significant, but weaker effect. Membership in voluntary organizations is a significant and weakly negative predictor of good health. Other relevant explanatory variables are education and work status.
    Keywords: Statistical matching; income; wealth; well-being; social interactions; social capital; health; Italy.
    JEL: I12 Z13
    Date: 2010–11–15
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26728&r=hrm

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