nep-hrm New Economics Papers
on Human Capital and Human Resource Management
Issue of 2011‒12‒05
seven papers chosen by
Tommaso Reggiani
Universita' di Bologna

  1. Human Capital, R&D and Productivity Convergence of European Regions. A spatial analysis of RHOMOLO's semi endogenous growth approach. By Fabio Manca; Giuseppe Piroli
  2. WAGE DIFFERENTIALS BY FIRM SIZE: THE EFFICIENCY WAGE TEST IN A DEVOLOPING COUNTRY By Isabel Raposo; Tatiane Menezes
  3. Sick of Taxes? Evidence on the Elasticity of Labor Supply when Workers Are Free to Choose By Martin Ljunge
  4. The Role of Job Satisfaction in Transitions into Self-Employment By Giuliano Guerra
  5. The Role of Physical, Human and Social Capital in Regional Financial Development Differences: An Analysis of Turkish Provinces By Ercan Dulgeroglu; Sibel Bali Eryigit; Kadir Y. Eryigit; Filiz Gaygusuz
  6. Gender-specific dynamics in working hours By Inge Noback; Lourens Broersma; Jouke van Dijk
  7. The Impact of Governance Structure on Firm Performance: Evidence from Japanese Local Mixed Enterprises By Tomoyasu Tanaka; Takao Goto

  1. By: Fabio Manca; Giuseppe Piroli
    Abstract: The aim of the paper is to test the Benhabib and Spiegel (2005) productivity (TFP) catch-up framework on European regions. Differences in the stock of human capital across regions are hypothesized to be the cause of differences in the speed by which follower regions converge and catch-up with the technology frontier. We find robust empirical evidence for this hypothesis. Also, we find evidence of complementarities between R&D expenditures and human capital accumulation for which R&D impacts TFP growth as long as a critical mass for the stock of human capital is reached. The results are robust to sectoral disaggregations and to the choice of a country or sectoral specific leader in the TFP gap computation and to control for spatial dependence across European regions.
    Date: 2011–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p816&r=hrm
  2. By: Isabel Raposo; Tatiane Menezes
    Abstract: Using data from the Brazilian Labor Monthly Survey (PME/ IBGE) for the years of 2006 and 2007, the paper investigates if the wage differential by firm size in Brazil can be explained by the predictions of the Efficiency Wage Theory. It is adopted a Switching Regression Model to estimate if large size companies pay a higher wage premium for dispended labor effort, as compared to smaller enterprises. The results proved the EW predictions. Besides the positive relation between effort and wage differentials by firm size, the results also showed that such wage differences favors larger firms, as compared to smaller ones, because they tend to remunerate better more skilled employees with long term contracts.
    Date: 2011–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p1465&r=hrm
  3. By: Martin Ljunge (University of Copenhagen and SITE)
    Abstract: I estimate a price elasticity of sickness absence. Sick leave is an intensive margin of labor supply where individuals are free to adjust. I exploit variation in tax rates over two decades, which provide thousands of differential incentives across time and space, to estimate the price responsiveness. High taxes provide an incentive to take more sick leave, as less after tax income is lost when taxes are high. The panel data, which is representative of the Swedish population, allow for extensive controls including unobserved individual characteristics. I find a substantial price elasticity of sick leave, -0.7, with respect to the net of tax rate. Though large relative to traditional labor supply elasticities, Swedes are half as price elastic as bike messengers, and just as elastic as stadium vendors on the margin which they can adjust freely.
    Keywords: sick leave, adjustable labor supply, work effort, taxes
    JEL: H31 I31 J22
    Date: 2011–10–18
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kuiedp:1127&r=hrm
  4. By: Giuliano Guerra (Institute for Economic Research (IRE), Faculty of Economics, University of Lugano, Switzerland)
    Abstract: As observed in many advanced economies experiencing an increase of self-employment rates since the late 1970s, a flourishing small- and medium-size enterprise sector is traditionally associated with positive economic development and growth. In the regional context, areas benefiting from an established entrepreneurial culture are in general more successful and innovative, as well as better equipped to sustain structural changes and to contrast unemployment. It is therefore important to investigate the reasons why individuals choose self-employment, and why they do it despite lower protection, higher risks, and possibly more effort than what is offered in a comparable wage employment position. Existing research identifies better prospects of entrepreneurial earnings as compared to wages as a major attraction towards self-employment. However, beside pecuniary motivations, other factors may be considered when it comes to occupational choice, as, among others, displacement, uncertainty, (the threat of) unemployment, and (dis-)satisfaction. Building on a job quits model, we propose a representation of transition behaviour from wage to self-employment which includes subjective evaluations of pecuniary and nonpecuniary satisfaction on the previous job. Individual microdata are drawn from the Swiss Household Panel (SHP), and cover the time period 1999–2008. Additionally, we focus on the dynamics of job satisfaction in order to highlight the role played by shocks in subjective evaluations, and introduce their interaction with levels to control for threshold effects.
    Keywords: self-employment, job satisfaction, job transition, Switzerland
    JEL: C25 J62 M13
    Date: 2011–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lug:wpaper:1201&r=hrm
  5. By: Ercan Dulgeroglu; Sibel Bali Eryigit; Kadir Y. Eryigit; Filiz Gaygusuz
    Abstract: The Role of Physical, Human and Social Capital in Regional Financial Development Differences: An Analysis of Turkish Provinces Ercan Dulgeroglu , Sibel Bali Eryigit , Kadir Y. Eryigit and Filiz Gaygusuz Abstract With the undeniable importance of the financial markets in the economy, the factors stimulating financial development have started to be researched, particularly in recent times in a more intensive way. Starting from this point, the driving force of this study is both to contribute to international literature in this field and to fill a gap in the literature related to Turkey. The main purpose of this study is to explain the causes of regional financial development differences on the basis of capital accumulation. In order to answer the question ‘What is the effect and degree of importance of physical, human and social capital on the differences in regional financial development?’, in this study some indexes for financial development and each type of capital accumulation will be calculated using kernel principle components analysis and depending on the annual data of 81 provinces covering the period 2005 – 2009. As an index, the capital measurements can be seen in a comprehensive form allowing for more accurate measurement and evaluation of both the capital accumulation and financial development. By using the calculated indexes, then, financial development differences are evaluated with spatial panel data methods developed by Elhorst (2003). In this context, to our knowledge, this study is the first to take into account the effects of each type of capital on financial development in a model simultaneously. Keywords: Financial development, physical capital, human capital, social capital, spatial panel data analysis,
    Date: 2011–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p1539&r=hrm
  6. By: Inge Noback; Lourens Broersma; Jouke van Dijk
    Abstract: Abstract Gender-specific dynamics in working hours ERSA Barcelona 2011 The Dutch are part-time working champions of the world, not just because the majority of women work part-time, also a growing number of men are working part-time. However, with the aging of the population there is an increasing threat to current welfare levels. The aim of this paper is to assess the possibilities of a rise in wealth through a change in (the trend of) working hours. For the analysis we have created a unique data base which includes workers that have occupied the same job in the period 2003-2005. This means we abstain from dynamics in jobs, (i.e. job finders, job switchers, job losers), which can partly be attributed to changes in participation. Instead we focus completely at working hours of a given job. The analysis is comprised of two parts, first we analyse factors determine the actual number of hours worked for both female and male occupied jobs. Second, we analyse the dynamics in working hours of a given job using a bivariate probit estimation with selection. This model takes into account what factors determine if a person does or does not change working hours and subsequently examines which factors determine whether this change is an increase or a decrease in working hours. Women more frequently change their working hours than men and both rather decrease than increase their working hours. Changes in work situation and household situation are important determinants of changes in working hours, for women also changes in residential context play a role. A decrease in hourly wage and a relative decrease in the burden of taking care of small children are important determinants of increasing working hours, for both men and women. Although men only decrease their working hours after the birth of the first child.
    Date: 2011–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p1308&r=hrm
  7. By: Tomoyasu Tanaka; Takao Goto
    Abstract: In Japan, many local mixed enterprises owned and operated jointly by local governments and private sectors had been established from the late 1980’s to the early 1990’s in order to provide public services more efficiently. At present, in Japan, many local mixed enterprises are confronted with a serial fiscal crisis. In 2007, the national government enacted the Local Public Finance Reconstruction Law and started to lead local mixed enterprises and local governments to achieve fiscal soundness. In addition to local governments, mixed enterprises have to make an effort to operate more efficiently. However, we believe that local mixed enterprises lack the incentives to manage more efficiently because of the governance structure. Firstly, as local mixed enterprises are owned by local governments, they can procure government-guaranteed funds and are able to raise capital more easily. Also, if business conditions of enterprises worsen, local governments give subsidies to bail out ailing enterprises. Managers do not have to worry about going bankrupt and might continue to carry out inefficient projects. Secondly, if managers are from local governments, or if the majority of the board members are local government officials, they might supply services without putting stress on profit. Therefore, it is possible that the governance structure of local mixed enterprises is the important factor that determines their performance. In this paper, we study the link between the performance and the governance structure in local mixed enterprises.
    Date: 2011–09
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa11p539&r=hrm

This nep-hrm issue is ©2011 by Tommaso Reggiani. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
General information on the NEP project can be found at http://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.
NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the School of Economics and Finance of Massey University in New Zealand.