nep-hrm New Economics Papers
on Human Capital and Human Resource Management
Issue of 2011‒07‒21
eight papers chosen by
Tommaso Reggiani
Universita' di Bologna

  1. Lobbying for Education in a Two-sector Model. By Debora Di Gioacchino; Paola Profeta
  2. Is it always good to let universities select their students? By Guido Friebel Dario Maldonado
  3. Whether to Hire Local Contract Teachers? Trade-off Between Skills and Preferences in India. By Sonja Fagernäs; Panu Pelkonen
  4. PRESENTATION OF A NEW PARADIGM OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT IN SHOUSHTAR CITY By Rahman Ebrahimi Tabar
  5. How to Educate Entrepreneurs? By Graevenitz, Georg von; Weber, Richard
  6. STUDY ON THE EMPLOYEES EMPOWERMENT FUNCTIONS OF TEHRAN EDUCATION ORGANIZATION By Dr. Masoud Haghighi; Mahrokh Alimohammadi; Dr. Qolamali Sarmad
  7. Rewarding my Self. Self Esteem, Self Determination and Motivations By Bruno, Bruna
  8. Graduates’ employment and employability after the “Bologna Process” reform. Evidence from the Italian experience and methodological issues By Gilberto Antonelli; Andrea Cammelli; Furio Camillo; Angelo di Francia; Silvia Ghiselli; Matteo Sgarzi

  1. By: Debora Di Gioacchino; Paola Profeta
    Abstract: Modern economies devote a relevant share of their resources to education. However, even among industrialised countries, there are differences in the traits of the education system and in its outcome in terms of human capital composition. The question we pose in this paper is why the composition of human capital is so diversied. The answer we propose is that the education system responds to the economy’s structure of production. Skills are required by firms according to their needs and are supplied through the education system. We analyse the political economy of education in a two-period model in which heterogeneous firms, specialised in two different sectors, try to induce the government to finance the type of education which is complementary to their production. In the first period, the policy-maker decides the skill composition of new-workers which will determine the supply of skills in the second period. Firms may lobby to obtain their preferred skill composition. We show that in the political equilibrium in which firms in both sectors get organised, the policy-maker chooses the same skill composition that would be chosen by the social planner. Moving to endogenous lobbying, we are able to show that, if there are no costs of lobbying, then both sectors will lobby in equilibrium. However, in the more realistic case in which if lobbying is costly it may be that only one sector will find it profitable to offer monetary contribution; which sector gets organised depends on sectors’ share in total output, relative productivity and prices of the two sectors.
    Keywords: Endogenous lobbying, human capital composition, structure of production.
    JEL: I2 D72
    Date: 2010–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sap:wpaper:138&r=hrm
  2. By: Guido Friebel Dario Maldonado
    Abstract: ABSTRACT: We undertake a first step to investigating a reform that has been applied in numerous universities across Europe: the right to select students. We ask to what extent this right will increase the effciency of the university. While it seems evident that giving universities the right to select students that match best with the human capital of professors should increase efficiency measures in the productivities of students in the labor market, we point to a potentially negative effect. We argue that allowing universities to select the students they prefer can reduce the incentives of the universities to improve the human capital of their professors.
    Date: 2011–07–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000092:008807&r=hrm
  3. By: Sonja Fagernäs (Department of Economics, University of Sussex); Panu Pelkonen (Department of Economics, University of Sussex)
    Abstract: Whether to hire teachers locally on a contract basis, or via competitive examinations and training as government officials, is a major policy question in developing countries. Recruitment practices can have implications for the competence, motivation and the cost of teachers. This study relies on a Discrete Choice Experiment to assess the job preferences of a sample of 700 future elementary school teachers in the state of Uttarakhand in India. The students have been selected using either district-wide competitive examination or from a pool of locally hired, experienced contract teachers (para-teachers). Skills in English, Arithmetic and Vocabulary are also tested. We find a trade-off between skills and preferences, as teacher students hired using competitive examination have higher skills, but prefer posts in less remote regions. Most of the differences in job preferences between the two groups can be explained by geographic origin of the teachers, skills, experience and education.
    Keywords: Education, Para-teachers, Discrete Choice Experiment, Skills, Preferences, India
    JEL: H75 I28 J24 J28 J41 J45
    Date: 2011–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:1811&r=hrm
  4. By: Rahman Ebrahimi Tabar (Faculty of Human Scientific, Islamic Azad Universiity, Shootar Branch, Iran)
    Abstract: In the knowledge society of the 21 century human resources development (HRD) is of critical importance in both enhancing the competitiveness of nations and ensurance social integration to wards national development
    Keywords: Knowledge society, resources management, social welfare, national development, information technology, national innovation system, research and development, vocational education
    JEL: M00
    Date: 2011–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cms:1icm11:2011-032_237&r=hrm
  5. By: Graevenitz, Georg von; Weber, Richard
    Abstract: Entrepreneurship education has two purposes: To improve students’ entrepreneurial skills and to provide impetus to those suited to entrepreneurship while discouraging the rest. While entrepreneurship education helps students to make a vocational decision its effects may conflict for those not suited to entrepreneurship. This study shows that vocational and the skill formation effects of entrepreneurship education can be identified empirically by drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior. This is embedded in a structural equation model which we estimate and test using a robust 2SLS estimator. We find that the attitudinal factors posited by the Theory of Planned Behavior are positively correlated with students’ entrepreneurial intentions. While conflicting effects of vocational and skill directed course content are observed in some individuals, overall these types of content are complements. This finding contradicts previous results in the literature. We reconcile the conflicting findings and discuss implications for the design of entrepreneurship courses.
    Keywords: Entrepreneurship education; entrepreneurial intention; theory of planned behavior; structural equation models; two stage least squares.
    JEL: L11 L13 O34
    Date: 2011
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:msmdpa:12280&r=hrm
  6. By: Dr. Masoud Haghighi; Mahrokh Alimohammadi; Dr. Qolamali Sarmad (Educational Administration Dept, Roudehen Branch Islamic Azad University, Roudehen, Tehran, Iran)
    Abstract: The objective of the present research is to investigate the employees' empowerment functions of Tehran education organization. The research's method is the descriptive survey method. All employees of the city of Tehran's education organization whom add up to 586 people form its statistical population, samples were selected according to Morgan table which has been 230 person. Questionnaire, which has been made by researcher, was used for gathering information. The validity of the questionnaire has been confirmed by the comments of the guide and co-guide and reliability of it was achieved by the Cronbach's alpha coefficient test of 0/956. Chi square has been used for analyzing data. The results showed that there is a meaningful relationship between empowerment and motivational factors, increase staff confidence, strengthening cordiality and honesty of employees, increasing efficiency partnership and teamwork, strengthening communication, increasing information, knowledge and skills of employees, optimizing work flow and procedures
    Keywords: Empowerment, Employees, Education Organization
    JEL: M00
    Date: 2011–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cms:1icm11:2011-045_078&r=hrm
  7. By: Bruno, Bruna
    Abstract: The paper presents a model where the self esteem and the self determination mechanisms are explicitly modelled in order to explain how they affect the intrinsic motivation and its impact on individual choices. The aim is to reconcile different explanations (and consequences) of the motivation crowding theory in a unique theoretical framework where the locus of control is introduced in a one period maximisation problem and the intrinsic motivation is assumed as an exogenous psychological attitude. The analysis is based on the different effect of the self esteem mechanism on intrinsic motivation input oriented or output oriented. Results show that crowding out of intrinsic motivation depends on the self determination sensitivity and the individual belief about one’s own self.
    Keywords: intrinsic motivation; crowding out; self-esteem; self-determination.
    JEL: D11 D64 J22
    Date: 2011–07–13
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:32218&r=hrm
  8. By: Gilberto Antonelli (AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium, University of Bologna); Andrea Cammelli (AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium, University of Bologna); Furio Camillo (University of Bologna, AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium); Angelo di Francia (AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium); Silvia Ghiselli (AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium); Matteo Sgarzi (AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium)
    Abstract: In a phase of depression and systemic crisis investments are essential assets in organizing the recovery, and the more so when innovation is relevant. This is why universities, companies, households and graduates implement strategies for overcoming the present crisis, leading to structural changes and competition both at the local and international level. In this framework, tracer studies on graduates transition to the labour markets provides fundamental insights and information not only to the organizations responsible for their training, but also to the economic system as a whole. Moreover, any such study is all the more useful when it can draw upon reliable and up-to-date information. This paper emphasizes three main points. First we present the results achieved by the AL model in tracing the transition path of graduates from the time they enrolled at the university until a few years after earning the degree. The survey is carried out every year by the AL and makes it possible to analyze the most recent labour market trends through the scrutiny of the career opportunities available for the graduates after 1, 3 and 5 years on from graduation. More specifically, we will present the results of the 2008 survey. This survey involved also all first and second level graduates from the 2007 vintage. Second, we examine the revision in our survey method, adopted in order to face the need to monitor a much higher number of post-reform graduates (more than 140 thousand overall) and the call of the Ministry and the universities to keep the information as much detailed as possible in assessing the employment outcomes for each single degree course, without losing feasibility in terms of costs and data collection time. In fact, we resorted to a mixed method: the computer assisted web interviewing (CAWI) and the computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). This is why it became necessary to measure and assess the effect of this approach on the answers given by interviewed graduates. In third place, we outline the results of some preliminary experiments carried on in order to allow for specific and recurrent comparisons between the results achieved with the AL model and other similar models dealing with the employment conditions of Italian graduates.
    Keywords: Graduates’ employment; Graduates’ employability; Bologna Process; University reform; University governance; Assessment of the higher education system; CAWI and CATI survey techniques; Propensity score matching; Data quality control; Counter factual analysis; Labour supply, Human capital.
    Date: 2011–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:laa:wpaper:1&r=hrm

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