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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Ellen Rissman |
| Abstract: | The self-employed are a heterogeneous group. Some are self-employed because they are good at it, while others are self-employed because they cannot find a better paying salaried job. Data from the CPS for prime age males show that workers are almost twice as likely to enter self-employment from unemployment as from paid employment. Furthermore, almost 22% of workers exit self-employment within the year with most returning to paid employment. This paper develops a framework for examining transitions between the labor market states of unemployment, paid employment, and self-employment. The self-employed fall into two groups: those who continue to seek paid employment in the wage and salary sector and those whose value from self-employment exceeds the expected value from continued search. The calibrated model is used to examine the effects of business startup costs on labor market transition rates. Doubling startup costs has very little impact on these rates. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:wp-07-14&r=lab |
| By: | Giovanni Sulis |
| Abstract: | This paper studies gender wage differentials in Italy by providing a structural estimation of the frictional parameters of two different theoretical specifications of an equilibrium search model. I alternatively allow for firm heterogeneity and discrimination empirically using maximum likelihood and matching .first moments in the data. Results indicate substantial differences in transition parameters with higher level of search frictions for women. The mapping from productivity to wages for men is highly non linear, with high productivity firms offering proportionally higher wages; for women, the relationships is almost linear. Including discrimination, I find that productivity accounts for 61% of the wage offer differential, search for 28% and 11% is the part of discrimination. |
| Keywords: | Gender Wage Differentials, Equilibrium Search, Discrimination, Structural Estimation, Italy |
| JEL: | J31 J41 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:200715&r=lab |
| By: | Maude Toussaint-Comeau |
| Abstract: | Previous study by Card and Lewis (2005) has found (puzzling) that inflows of Mexican immigrants into “new” metropolitan areas have had no effect on the relative wages of very low-skill (high school dropouts). Rather, Mexican workers do affect relative wages for high school graduates. Whereas Card and Lewis’ study uses variations across geographies, this paper considers variations across occupations. Recognizing that Mexican immigrants are highly occupationally clustered (disproportionately work in distinctive “very low wage” occupations), we use this fact to motivate the empirical approach to analyze the relationship between the composition of Mexican immigrants across occupations/industries and average wages in the occupations/industries. To summarize our finding, we confirm that in spite of the fact that Mexican immigrants are disproportionately in “very low skill” occupations, (which we define as occupations where the average workers have no high school education), we find no significant impact of Mexican immigrants on wages in those occupations. By contrast, inflows of Mexican immigrants have some small effects on the wages of native workers in “low skill” occupations (which we define as occupations where the average worker has at least some high school education or is a high school graduate). These results suggest potential “spill over effects” as natives may be reallocating their labor supply into non-predominant Mexican occupations. An analysis of employment changes of natives into different occupation groupings in response to an inflow of Mexican immigrants, confirms that natives’ employment in occupations where the average worker has a high school education increases in response to Mexican inflows in the U.S labor force from previous periods. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:wp-07-24&r=lab |
| By: | Corsini, Lorenzo (University of Pisa) |
| Abstract: | We study the evolution of the wage differentials between graduate (skilled) and non graduate (unskilled) workers in several european countries in the period that range from the beginning of the nineties to the beginning of this century. The starting point is that all european countries show an increasing relative supply of skilled workers but different behaviours of the wage differentials. The standard explanation for non decreasing differentials in the face of rising relative supply is that technological progress is skill biased. This in turn would imply that technological progress differs in its magnitude and effects across Europe. Our finding shows that what is relevant in the determination of the differentials it is the pace and intensity at which technological progress takes place. We turn then to institutions and we build a model of imperfect competition and wage bargaining which relate the differentials to the technological progress but also to several labour market institutions. The empirical analysis on this aspect reveal that employment rates of different groups as well as the union density and the generosity of unemployment benefits are indeed important and help in explaining the evolution of the wage differentials between skilled and unskilled workers. |
| Keywords: | Wage Differentials; Technological Changes ; Labor Market Institutions |
| JEL: | J31 J51 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:iriswp:2008-02&r=lab |
| By: | Julie Zissimopoulos (RAND); Nicole Maestas (RAND); Lynn Karoly (RAND) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we examine how public and private pension and health insurance systems affect the retirement transitions. In many countries, public and private pension eligibility, as well as access to health insurance varies between self-employed and wage and salary workers, and these differences are likely to cause differential retirement patterns both within and across countries. We use the variation in these institutional features within and across the United States and England to analyze retirement patterns. Based on longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States and the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA) we find that the higher labor force exit rate of wage and salary workers compared to self-employed workers is due to defined benefit pension incentives created by the public and private pension systems. Higher rates of labor force exit at ages 55 and older in England compared to the United States are due in part to the availability of publicly provided health insurance. |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp155&r=lab |
| By: | Albrecht, James (Department of Economics, Georgetown University); van den Berg, Gerard J (IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation); Vroman, Susan (Department of Economics, Georgetown University) |
| Abstract: | The Swedish adult education program known as the Knowledge Lift (1997-2002) was unprecedented in its size and scope, aiming to raise the skill level of large numbers of low-skill workers. This paper evaluates the potential effects of this program on aggregate labor market outcomes. This is done by calibrating an equilibrium search model with heterogeneous worker skills using pre-program data and then forecasting the program impacts. Our calibrations suggest that the equilibrium treatment effects were positive - wages are predicted to increase, as are the employment rates of the treated. The equilibrium effects magnify the partial effects by a factor 1.5 to 2. This is due to the increase in demand for skills that is triggered by the increase in its supply. |
| Keywords: | Job search; policy evaluation; wages; unemployment; Swedish labor market; calibration; adult education; equilibrium effects |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2007–12–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2008_001&r=lab |
| By: | Emma Hall; Carol Propper; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | Labor market regulation can have harmful unintended consequences. In many markets, especially for public sector workers, pay is regulated to be the same for individuals across heterogeneous geographical labor markets. We would predict that this will mean labor supply problems and potential falls in the quality of service provision in areas with stronger labor markets. In this paper we exploit panel data from the population of English acute hospitals where pay for medical staff is almost flat across the country. We predict that areas with higher outside wages should suffer from problems of recruiting, retaining and motivating high quality workers and this should harm hospital performance. We construct hospital-level panel data on both quality - as measured by death rates (within hospital deaths within thirty days of emergency admission for acute myocardial infarction, AMI) - and productivity. We present evidence that stronger local labor markets significantly worsen hospital outcomes in terms of quality and productivity. A 10% increase in the outside wage is associated with a 4% to 8% increase in AMI death rates. We find that an important part of this effect operates through hospitals in high outside wage areas having to rely more on temporary “agency staff” as they are unable to increase (regulated) wages in order to attract permanent employees. By contrast, we find no systematic role for an effect of outside wages of performance when we run placebo experiments in 42 other service sectors (including nursing homes) where pay is unregulated. |
| Keywords: | labor market regulation, hospital quality, hospital productivity, skills. |
| JEL: | J45 F12 I18 J31 |
| Date: | 2007–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:07/184&r=lab |
| By: | Mirko Abbritti and Sebastian Weber (IUHEI, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva) |
| Abstract: | We build a model that combines two types of labor market rigidities: real wage rigidities and labor market frictions. The model is used to analyze the implications of the interaction of different degrees and types of labor market rigidities for the business cycle by looking at three dimensions (i) the persistence of key economic variables; (ii) their volatility; (iii) the length, average duration and intensity of recessions and expansions. We find that real wage rigidities and labor market frictions, while often associated under the same category of "labor market rigidities" may have opposite effects on business cycle fluctuations. When the rigidity lies in the wage determination mechanism, real wages cannot fully adjust and shocks tend to be absorbed through changes in quantities. A higher degree of real wage rigidities thus amplifies the response of the real economy to shocks, shortens the duration of the business cycle but makes it more intense. When the rigidity lies in the labor market, it is more costly for firms to hire new workers and therefore unemployment does not vary as much, thus increasing inflation volatility and smoothening the response of the real economy to shocks. The cycle gets longer but less severe. Analyzing the interaction of institutions we show that these effects are reinforcing if institutions are substitutes - in the sense that countries with high labor market frictions tend to have low real wage rigidities and vice versa - while they are offsetting if institutions are complements. The findings from the model are supported when compared to the data of a range of OECD countries. |
| Keywords: | monetary policy, labor market search, real wage rigidity, inflation volatility, labour market interactions |
| JEL: | E32 E24 J01 |
| Date: | 2007–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:giihei:heiwp01-2008&r=lab |
| By: | Thorsten Schank (Chair of Labour and Regional Economics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg); Claus Schnabel (Chair of Labour and Regional Economics, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg); Joachim Wagner (Institute of Economics, Leuphana University of Lüneburg) |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT: While it is a stylized fact that exporting firms pay higher wages than non-exporting firms, the direction of the link between exporting and wages is less clear. Using a rich set of German linked employer-employee panel data we follow over time plants that start to export. We show that the exporter wage premium does already exist in the years before firms start to export, and that it does not increase in the following years. Higher wages in exporting firms are thus due to self-selection of more productive, better paying firms into export markets; they are not caused by export activities. |
| Keywords: | exports; wages; exporter wage premium; Germany |
| JEL: | F10 D21 J31 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:74&r=lab |
| By: | Pia Nykänen |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT : This study examines gender differences in the career development of young white-collar workers during the first years of their career. In the descriptive analysis the hierarchical level of the first job and the job mobility of men and women are compared. Then, in the econometric part of the study, the probabilities to change jobs and to be promoted are estimated using panel probit models. The empirical dataset consists of a sample drawn from the white-collar worker data gathered by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK). The results of this study indicate that there are no significant gender differences in job mobility during the first years of the career. Women change jobs and are promoted at least as often as men. However, women are likely to start their careers from less demanding jobs than men. In addition, female jobs often turned out to be dead ends. When the share of women in the job increases both the probability to change jobs and to be promoted decreases. |
| Keywords: | gender difference in career development, job mobility |
| JEL: | J16 J62 M51 |
| Date: | 2008–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:dpaper:1117&r=lab |
| By: | Christopher House (University of Michigan); John Laitner (University of Michigan); Dmitriy Stolyarov (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | This study seeks to quantify determinants, and costs, of the laborforce participation of married women. We use demographic and earnings data from the Health and Retirement Study. The earnings data constitute an unusually long panel but have the defect of lacking corresponding reports on work hours. By using a highly structured model and concentrating on the participation margin, we nevertheless feel that we can make substantial progress. Our preliminary regression results imply that married women’s market work disrupts their household consumption slightly less than one half as much as men’s work (relative to complete household retirement). We lay out a course of additional steps that can, we believe, clarify these results even more precisely in the near future. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp171&r=lab |
| By: | Yemtsov, Ruslan; Tiongson, Erwin R. |
| Abstract: | This paper takes stock of labor market developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the period 2001-2004, using the panel Living Standards Measurement Study/Living in Bosnia and Herzegovina survey. The analysis estimates a multinomial logit model of labor market transitions by state of origin (employment, unemployment, and inactivity) following the specification of widely used models of transition probabilities, and analyzes the impact of standard covariates. The results provide strong evidence that there are indeed significant differences in labor market transitions by gender, age, education, and geographic location. Using the panel structure of the multi-topic survey data, the authors find that these transitions are related to welfare dynamics, with welfare levels evolving differently for various groups depending on their labor market trajectories. The findings show that current labor market trends reflecting women ' s movement out of labor markets and laid-off male workers accepting informal sector jobs characterized by low productivity will lead to adverse social outcomes. These outcomes could be averted if the planned enterprise reform program creates a more favorable business environment and leads to faster restructuring and growth of firms. |
| Keywords: | Labor Markets,Labor Policies,Population Policies,,Banks & Banking Reform |
| Date: | 2008–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:4479&r=lab |
| By: | John Bound (University of Michigan); Todd Stinebrickner (University of Western Ontario); Timothy Waidmann (The Urban Institute) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we specify a dynamic programming model that addresses the interplay among health, financial resources, and the labor market behavior of men in the later part of their working lives. Unlike previous work which has typically used self reported health or disability status as a proxy for health status, we model health as a latent variable, using self reported disability status as an indicator of this latent construct. Our model is explicitly designed to account for the possibility that the reporting of disability may be endogenous to the labor market behavior we are studying. The model is estimated using data from the Health and Retirement Study. We compare results based on our model to results based on models that treat health in the typical way, and find large differences in the estimated effect of health on behavior. While estimates based on our model suggest that health has a large impact on behavior, the estimates suggest a substantially smaller role for health than we find when using standard techniques. We use our model to simulate the impact on behavior of raising the normal retirement age, eliminating early retirement altogether and eliminating the Social Security Disability Insurance program. |
| Keywords: | retirement behavior; disability insurance; social security; dynamic programming, latent Variable models |
| JEL: | C15 C61 H55 J14 J26 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwo:epuwoc:20076&r=lab |
| By: | Andrew Sharpe, Jean-Francois Arsenault, and Daniel Ershov |
| Abstract: | The Impact of Interprovincial Migration on Aggregate Output and Labour Productivity in Canada, 1987-2006 |
| Abstract: | Interprovincial migration has increased significantly in Canada since 2003. This article develops a methodology to estimate total output gains due to interprovincial migration from two sources: gains due to increased employment, and gains due to re-allocation of workers between provinces with different productivity levels. It estimates that in 2006 the net output gains arising from interprovincial migration were $883.1 million (1997 constant prices), or 0.074 per cent of GDP. Higher employment rates in provinces experiencing a net positive balance of interprovincial migrants were responsible for $398.0 million of the gains and higher output per worker in these provinces was responsible for $485.0 million. |
| Keywords: | Interprovincial migration, Canada, Labour Productivity, Economic Growth. |
| JEL: | J61 E20 O20 O47 O51 |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:0702&r=lab |
| By: | Emilia Del Bono (ESRC Research Centre on Micro-Social Change, Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), University of Essex); Andrea Weber (Department of Economics & Finance Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS) (Institute for Advanced Studies)); Rudolf Winter-Ebmer (Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we investigate how fertility decisions respond to unex- pected career interruptions which occur as a consequence of job displace- ment. Using an event study approach we compare the birth rates of dis- placed women with those of women una®ected by job loss after establish- ing the pre-displacement comparability of these groups. Our results reveal that job displacement reduces average fertility by 5 to 10% in both the short and medium term (3 and 6 years) and that these e®ects are largely explained by the response of white collar women. Using an instrumen- tal variable approach we provide evidence that the reduction in fertility is not due to the income loss generated by unemployment but arises be- cause displaced workers undergo a career interruption. These results are interpreted in the light of a model in which the rate of human capital accumulation slows down after the birth of a child and all specific human capital is destroyed upon job loss. |
| Keywords: | fertility, unemployment, plant closings, human capital |
| JEL: | J13 J64 J65 J24 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:econwp:2008_02&r=lab |
| By: | Oliver Gürtler (Department of Economics, BWL II, University of Bonn, Adenauerallee 24-42, D-53113 Bonn, Germany, oliver.guertler@uni-bonn.de,); Matthias Kräkel (Department of Economics, BWL II, University of Bonn, Adenauerallee 24-42, D-53113 Bonn, Germany, m.kraekel@uni-bonn.de,) |
| Abstract: | We consider a double-sided moral hazard problem where each party can renege on the signed contract since there does not exist any verifiable performance signal. It is shown that ex-post litigation can restore incentives of the agent. Moreover, when the litigation can be settled by the parties the pure threat of using the legal system may suffice to make the principal implement first-best effort. As is shown in the paper, this .finding is rather robust. In particular, it holds for situations where the agent is protected by limited liability, where the parties have different technologies in the litigation contest, or where the agent is risk averse. |
| Keywords: | double-sided moral hazard; efficiency wage; litigation; contest; settlement |
| JEL: | D86 J33 K41 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trf:wpaper:214&r=lab |
| By: | Rubiana Chamarbagwala (Indiana University Bloomington); Gunjan Sharma (University of Missouri) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the relationship between economic deregulation (delicensing), skill upgrading, and wage inequality during the 1980s and 1990s in India. We use a unique dataset on India's industrial licensing regime to test whether industrial deregulation during the 1980s and 1990s played a role in generating demand for skilled workers, as measured by the employment and wagebill shares of white-collar workers, and in raising the returns to skilled labor, as measured by the skill premium. Our analysis focuses not only on the difference between licensed and delicensed industries but also on the comparison of these differences during the 1980s, when India's external sector remained relatively closed to the world economy, and the 1990s, when India underwent massive liberalization reforms and became increasingly integrated with the global economy. We identify two main channels through which industrial delicensing affects the demand for skills and wage inequality: capital- and output-skill complementarities. Our analysis finds two important results. First, capital- and output-skill complementarities existed for firms in both licensed and delicensed industries but were stronger in delicensed industries both before and after 1991. The exception is output-skill complementarities with respect to the skill premium, where delicensed industries experienced lower output-skill complementarities compared to licensed ones both before and after 1991. Second, the contribution of industrial delicensing to both types of complementarities was considerably higher during the 1980s and much smaller after 1991. These results suggest that industrial delicensing benefited skilled labor via capital- and output-skill complementarities during the 1980s, the decade before India liberalized it's trade and investment regime. Thus, much of the increase in the demand for and returns to skill as a result of capital- and output-skill complementarities can be attributed to domestic reforms during the pre-1991 period in India. |
| Keywords: | Capital-skill complementarities, industrial delicensing, trade liberalization, India |
| JEL: | F16 J23 J24 O14 O38 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inu:caeprp:2008-002&r=lab |
| By: | Leslie McGranahan |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to explain disparities in the charitable bequest behavior of men and women. I use data on charitable bequests in wills from 17th Century Suffolk, England to investigate whether women or men were more generous to the poor when they died. Because of the difference in the legal restrictions faced by married men and married women, I choose to compare unmarried individuals. Higher proportions of unmarried men make charitable donations and men make higher average donations. I find that differences in the wealth, circumstances and family status of women can explain between 58% and 99% of the gap in the donation rate. In addition, I find that women’s attributes serve to depress their average donations. Based on these finding I conclude that women were not less generous than men despite the fact that a low proportion of total donations came from women. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:wp-07-18&r=lab |
| By: | Sainan Jin; Yukako Ono; Qinghua Zhang |
| Abstract: | The growth rate of temporary help service employment is often considered to be a leading business cycle indicator, because the firing and hiring of temporary help workers typically lead that of permanent workers. However, few works in the literature focus on the mechanism that generates the lag between temporary and permanent growth. This paper investigates how demand volatility is related to the lag. Focusing on the relationship between a firm’s information extraction and their hiring/firing decisions, our simple model predicts that the average size of transitory demand shocks increase the lag while the average size of shocks that persist longer shortens the lag. Our empirical analysis based on cross-city variation finds supporting evidence to the above predictions, after controlling for city size and other city-specific demographic characteristics. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:wp-07-19&r=lab |
| By: | Maud ROUCAN-KANE; Roman KEENEY (Department of Agricultural Economics, College of Agriculture, Purdue University) |
| Abstract: | In addition to farm work, most farm households in developed countries have at least one person working off-farm. The purpose of this paper is to examine if, and how, government payments, personal characteristics and household characteristics affect labor allocation of farm operators and their spouses, and the decisions to hire labor. We estimate an 8-regime multinomial logit model and a three equation multivariate probit model to quantify these impacts. Results indicate that age of household members is consistent with the life-cycle hypothesis on increasing then decreasing labor market par, and is positively associated with demand for hired labor. Hired farm labor and off farm activities increase with the operator education levels. As household size increases, a household member is more likely to work off the farm. Increasing net worth is found to have a positive impact on probability of spouses working on the farm as well as hired labor being used. Both coupled and decoupled payments increase demand for hired labor which is consistent both with farm expansion and reduced family labor time on the farm. |
| Keywords: | government subsidies, government programs, time allocation, labor allocation, off-farm labor, farm labor, hired labor |
| JEL: | J22 Q12 Q18 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pae:wpaper:07-11&r=lab |
| By: | Richard G. Anderson; Charles S. Gascon |
| Abstract: | The fear of offshoring, particularly in services since 2000, has raised workers economic insecurity and heightened concerns over future economic globalization. Many have argued that globalization has exacerbated labor market turbulence increasing the demand for social insurance programs. The authors present a simple theoretical model establishing a connection between the threat of offshoring, economic insecurity, and the demand for social insurance. Data from the 1972-2006 General Social Survey to provides supporting empirical evidence. |
| Keywords: | Globalization ; International economic integration |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2008-003&r=lab |
| By: | Purvi Sevak (Hunter College); Lucie Schmidt (Williams College) |
| Abstract: | Existing literature suggests that immigrants receive lower wages than U.S.-born workers with similar characteristics. This could imply that immigrant households would enter retirement at a significant financial disadvantage. In this paper, we examine the retirement resources available to immigrant families by examining Social Security benefits, pension coverage, and private wealth accumulation. Our results suggest that although immigrant families may be financially better-off in the U.S. than in their native countries, they do enter retirement at a significant financial disadvantage relative to native born households with similar characteristics. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp169&r=lab |
| By: | Russo, Giuseppe |
| Abstract: | The claim that "skilled immigration is welcome" is often associated to the increasing adoption of selective immigration policies. I study the voting over differentiated immigration policies in a two-country, three-factor general equilibrium model where there exist skilled and unskilled workers, migration decisions are endogenous, enforcing immigration restriction is costly, and natives dislike unskilled immigration. According to my findings, decisions over border closure are made to protect the median voter when her capital endowment is sufficiently small. Therefore I argue that the professed favour for skilled immigration veils the protection for the insiders. This result is confirmed by the observation that entry is rationed for both skilled and unskilled workers. Moreover, immigration aversion helps to explain the existence of entry barriers for unskilled workers in countries where the majority of voters is skilled. |
| Keywords: | Selective immigration policies; multidimensional voting; Condorcet winner. |
| JEL: | F22 D72 J18 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:6845&r=lab |
| By: | Andrew Sharpe |
| Abstract: | This paper makes the case that productivity is Canada’s economic destiny and that Canada’s dismal productivity performance, both from a historical and international perspective, therefore represents our biggest economic challenge. It then puts forward three specific policies to improve Canada’s productivity performance: foster the diffusion of best-practice technologies; remove the provincial sales tax on purchases of machinery and equipment; and promote interprovincial movement of workers by improving labour market information, removing professional barriers to labour mobility, and establishing a tax credit for interprovincial job search. It finds that the short-term costs of these policies would be greatly outweighed by the long-term benefits associated with their implementation. |
| Keywords: | Productivity growth in Canada, Policy, Diffusion, Provincial sales tax, Interprovincial migration. |
| JEL: | O20 O33 O38 O47 |
| Date: | 2007–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:0705&r=lab |
| By: | Robert R. Reed; Stacey L. Schreft |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a general equilibrium monetary model with performance incentives to study the inflation-unemployment relationship. A long-run downward-sloping Phillips curve can exist with perfectly anticipated inflation because workers’ incentive to exert effort depend on financial market returns. Consequently, higher inflation rates can reduce wages and stimulate employment. An upward-sloping or vertical Phillips Curve can arise instead, depending on agents’ risk aversion and the possibility of capital formation. Welfare might be higher away from the Friedman rule and with a central bank putting some weight on employment. |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkrw:rwp07-12&r=lab |
| By: | Daniel Aaronson; Sumit Agarwal; Eric French |
| Abstract: | This paper presents evidence that spending increases more than income, and thus debt rises, in households with minimum wage workers following a minimum wage hike. Furthermore, we show that the size, timing, persistence, and composition of spending is inconsistent with the basic certainty equivalent life cycle model as well as simple “rule of thumb” models where consumption is equal to a fraction of current income. However, our findings are consistent with a model where households can borrow against part of the value of their durable goods. We obtain these results from four different datasets – the Consumer Expenditure Survey, Survey of Income and Program Participation, Current Population Survey, and administrative bank and credit bureau records. ; PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:wp-07-23&r=lab |
| By: | Sebastian Gundel; Heiko Peters |
| Abstract: | We analyze the return-migration of German immigrants using the latest data of the German Socio- Economic Panel from 1984 to 2006. We conduct a Cox proportional hazard model with years of residence in Germany as waiting time. The analysis reveals that return migration is heavily influenced by country of origin. Individuals from countries with free labor movement agreements with Germany show a considerably higher likelihood of leaving the country relative to the others. The main finding is, with respect to the self-selection process we discovered that highly skilled are more likely to return than the less skilled. In addition, the results give plenty of information regarding the design of German immigration policy. |
| Keywords: | Remigration, Cox proportional hazard model, Germany |
| JEL: | C41 F22 J10 J61 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp79&r=lab |
| By: | Andrew Sharpe, Jean-Francois Arsenault and Simon Lapointe |
| Abstract: | Investing in disadvantaged young people is one of the rare public policies with no equity-efficiency tradeoff. This report estimates the potential benefit for the Canadian economy of increasing the educational attainment level of Aboriginal Canadians. We find that increasing the number of Aboriginals who complete high school is a low-hanging fruit with significant and far-reaching economic and social benefits for Canadians. Not only would it significantly contribute to increase the personal well-being of Aboriginal Canadians, but it would also contribute somewhat to alleviating two of the most pressing challenges facing the Canadian economy: slower labour force growth and lackluster labour productivity growth. In fact, we find that in the best case scenario where by 2017 the educational attainment and the labour market outcomes at a given level of educational attainment of Aboriginal Canadians reach the same level non-Aboriginal Canadians had in 2001, the potential contribution of Aboriginal Canadians is up to an additional cumulative $160 billion (2001 dollars) over the 2001-2017 period. That represents an increase of $21.5 billion (2001 dollars) in 2017 alone. Moreover, the potential contribution of Aboriginal Canadians to the total growth of the labour force between 2001 and 2017 is projected to be up to 7.39 per cent of the total labour force growth, much higher than their projected 3.37 per cent share of the working age population in 2017. Finally, we find that the potential contribution of Aboriginal Canadians to the annual growth rate of labour productivity in Canada is up to 0.037 percentage point. |
| Keywords: | Aboriginal, Education, Canada, Forecast of economic growth, Equity and efficiency. |
| JEL: | J10 J11 I29 E27 O11 O47 |
| Date: | 2007–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:0704&r=lab |
| By: | Irena Dushi (Social Security Administration); Marjorie Honig (Hunter College) |
| Abstract: | This research examines the determinants of eligibility and participation in 401(k) plans using two cross-sections of data from the Health and Retirement Study. Our sample consists of workers ages 51-56 representing two cohorts: the original HRS cohort born 1931-41, first interviewed in 1992, and the Early Baby Boomer (EBB) cohort born 1948-53, interviewed in 2004. Participation in 401(k) pensions in the EBB cohort is nearly 50 percent greater than that of the earlier cohort. This substantial growth in 401(k) plan participation over a relatively brief period may reflect intrinsic differences in tastes between the two cohorts, changes over this period in the external environment regarding retirement saving, or the joint effects of both influences. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp160&r=lab |
| By: | Stephan Kühntopf (University of Rostock and Rostock Centre for the Study of Demographic Change, Germany); Thusnelda Tivig (University of Rostock and Rostock Centre for the Study of Demographic Change, Germany) |
| Abstract: | The public pension system in Germany allows early retirement albeit at the cost of pension deductions. Deductions are calculated under the assumption that life expectancy is indepen-dent of the age of retirement and apply equally for men and women. The "fair" amount of deductions is currently debated, the general feeling being that they are too low. In this paper we show that remaining lifetime and thus the perpetuity period vary with the age of retirement. In a survival analysis using micro data from the German Pension Insurance, we find that remaining life expectancy of men at age 65 receiving old-age pensions with age 60 to 66 is up to 1.9 years higher if retirement occurred later. For women, instead, life expec-tancy is almost independent of retirement age. Extending the analysis to invalidity pensioners (they receive pensions before the age of 60), we find that men and women reaching the age of 65 have a more than 3 years lower remaining life expectancy than old-age pensioners on average. Many other variables, like residence (West and East Germany), lifetime wage in-come and number of children are considered, too. In a simple model we finally calculate and compare actuarial deductions under the alternative assumptions of constant and age-of-retirement dependent life expectancy. The main conclusion is that deductions currently in law are too high for very early retirees (below age 63) and too low for all others. |
| Keywords: | Life expectancy, retirement age, early retirement, pension deductions |
| JEL: | H55 J14 J26 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ros:wpaper:85&r=lab |
| By: | Elena Casquel (Universidad Miguel Hernández); Ezequiel Uriel Jiménez (Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to study the impact of family background and labor market conditions on educational attainment of Spanish youngsters using a new sample of data drawn for the first seven waves of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). Our results show that family background variables are strong determinants of the number of young adults that attained post-compulsory education. More specifically, we obtain that children¿s educational achievement is strongly related to parental education. Moreover, the results suggest that unemployment prospects aspect the demand for education through diminishing costs more than increasing returns to education. It could indicate that unemployment rate push people to enroll in tertiary education. El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar el impacto del entorno familiar y las condiciones del mercado laboral en las decisiones de educación de los jóvenes españoles. Para ello, vamos a usar una nueva muestra de datos obtenida de las primeras siete olas del panel de hogares europeo (phogue). Nuestros resultados muestran que las variables familiares tienen un fuerte impacto en el número de jóvenes que alcanzan educación superior. En concreto, obtenemos que la educación de los padres juega un papel muy importante. Además, nuestros resultados sugieren que las tasas de desempleo afectan a la decisión educativa disminuyendo los costes educativos pero no se observa evidencia de que incrementen los rendimientos de la educación. Estos resultados indican que las altas tasas de desempleo fomentan que los jóvenes realicen estudios universitarios. |
| Keywords: | decisión de educación, tasas de desempleo, probit ordenado educational attainment; family backgrounds; unemployment rate |
| JEL: | I2 I21 |
| Date: | 2007–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasec:2007-15&r=lab |
| By: | Andrew Sharpe and Anne-Marie Shaker |
| Abstract: | There are three main objectives for this report. The first is to ascertain to what degree the unemployment rate is an adequate predictor of labour market conditions in the context of the changing economy. Labour market conditions refer to the state of the labour market and encompass different dimensions. The second is to assess the suitability of other labour market indicators as predictors of labour market conditions. The third is to discuss the feasibility of aggregating relevant labour market indicators into a composite indicator of labour market conditions that might be considered for use in the design of government programs. This report concludes that the unemployment rate is actually a good indicator of labour market conditions, although it is wise to supplement it with additional indicators. The construction of composite indices does not seem to provide much more information on labour market conditions than the unemployment rate does. |
| Keywords: | Labour market indicators, unemployment rate, composite indicators. |
| JEL: | J00 J60 C80 O11 |
| Date: | 2007–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sls:resrep:0703&r=lab |
| By: | Thierry Tressel |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of product and labor market policies on technological diffusion and multi-factor productivity (MFP) in a panel of industries in 15 OECD countries over the period 1980 to 2003, with a special focus on Australia. We use a simple convergence empirical framework to show that, on average, convergence of MFP within industries across countries has slowed-down in the 1990s. In contrast, Australian industries have significantly caught-up with industry productivity best practices over the past 16 years, and have benefited from the diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). We show that reforms of both the labor and product markets since the early 1990s can explain Australia's productivity performance and adoption of ICTs. |
| Keywords: | Productivity , Australia , Labor markets , |
| Date: | 2008–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:08/4&r=lab |
| By: | Martin Farnham (University of Victoria); Purvi Sevak (Hunter College) |
| Abstract: | We use data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Office of Housing Enterprise Oversight to measure the effect of changes in housing wealth on retirement timing. Using cross-MSA variation in house-price movements to identify wealth effects on retirement timing, we find evidence that such wealth effects are present. According to some specifications the rate of transition into retirement increases in the presence of positive housing wealth shocks. In addition, we use data on expected age of retirement to measure the impact of housing wealth shocks on expectations about retirement timing. Using renters as a control for heterogeneity in local amenities and using individual fixed effects to control for unobserved individual heterogeneity, we find that a 10% increase in housing wealth is associated with a reduction in expected retirement age of between 3.5 and 5 months. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp172&r=lab |
| By: | John Laitner (University of Michigan); Dan Silverman (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | After dropping for a century, the average retirement age for U.S. males seems to have leveled off in recent decades. An important question is whether as future improvements in technology cause wages to rise, desired retirement ages will resume their downward trend, or not. This paper attempts to use HRS panel data to test how relatively high (or low) earnings affect male retirement ages. Our goal is to use cross-sectional earning differences to help anticipate likely time-series developments in coming decades. Our preliminary regression results show that higher earnings do lead to somewhat earlier retirement. Unless additional analysis changes the parameter estimates, the implication is that the downward trend in male retirement ages will ultimately return. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp165&r=lab |
| By: | Annamaria Lusardi; Olivia S. Mitchell |
| Abstract: | Many older US households have done little or no planning for retirement, and there is a substantial population that seems to undersave for retirement. Of particular concern is the relative position of older women, who are more vulnerable to old-age poverty due to their longer longevity. This paper uses data from a special module we devised on planning and financial literacy in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study. It shows that women display much lower levels of financial literacy than the older population as a whole. In addition, women who are less financially literate are also less likely to plan for retirement and be successful planners. These findings have important implications for policy and for programs aimed at fostering financial security at older ages. |
| JEL: | D91 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13750&r=lab |
| By: | Jeff Dominitz (RAND); Angela Hung (RAND); Arthur van Soest (Tilburg University and RAND) |
| Abstract: | We report on our preliminary findings from an innovative module of survey questions in the RAND American Life Panel designed to measure willingness to delay take-up of Social Security benefits. Among respondents who expect to stop working full time prior to turning age 62, over 60 percent report that they expect to start claiming Social Security benefits after they turn 63--that is, they expect to delay claiming. In contrast, among those who expect to stop full-time work sometime from age 62 to age 70, only about onequarter expect to delay claiming beyond the retirement age. Another main finding arises from reported probabilities of delayed claiming in hypothetical choice scenarios. These probabilities tend to be quite high relative to previous findings on delayed claiming outcomes. This result is particularly striking for those who are presented with information about the so-called "break-even age" for delayed claiming rather than information about the total amount of benefits that must be foregone during the one year delay. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp164&r=lab |
| By: | Marco Del Negro; Frank Schorfheide |
| Abstract: | The paper discusses prior elicitation for the parameters of dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) models, and provides a method for constructing prior distributions for a subset of these parameters from beliefs about the moments of the endogenous variables. The empirical application studies the role of price and wage rigidities in a New Keynesian DSGE model and finds that standard macro time series cannot discriminate among theories that differ in the quantitative importance of nominal frictions. |
| JEL: | C11 C32 E3 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13741&r=lab |
| By: | Eric French (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago); John Bailey Jones (SUNY-Albany) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides an empirical analysis of the effect of employer-provided health insurance and Medicare in determining retirement behavior. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we estimate the first dynamic programming model of retirement that accounts for both saving and uncertain medical expenses. Our results suggest that uncertainty and saving are both important. We find that workers value health insurance well in excess of its actuarial cost, and that access to health insurance has a significant effect on retirement behavior, which is consistent with the empirical evidence. As a result, shifting the Medicare eligibility age to 67 would cause a significant retirement delay--as large as the delay from shifting the Social Security normal retirement age from 65 to 67. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp170&r=lab |
| By: | Jonasson, Erik (Department of Economics, Lund University); Helfand, Steven (University of California, Riverside) |
| Abstract: | By paying particular attention to the local economic context, this paper analyzes the determinants of non-agricultural employment and earnings in non-agricultural jobs. The empirical analysis is based on the Brazilian Demographic Census, allowing for disaggregated controls for the local economy. Education stands out as one of the key determinants of employment outcome and earnings potential. Failure to control for locational effects, however, can lead to biased estimation of the importance of individual and household-specific characteristics. The empirical results show that local market size and distance to population centers have a significant impact on non-agricultural employment prospects and earnings. |
| Keywords: | rural non-agricultural employment; economic geography; Latin America; Brazil |
| JEL: | J31 O12 O15 O18 |
| Date: | 2008–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2008_003&r=lab |
| By: | Irina Tytell; Florence Jaumotte |
| Abstract: | Labor markets around the world have become increasingly integrated over the last two decades, with the entry of China, India and the former Eastern bloc into the world trading system, the removal of restrictions on trade and capital flows, and rapid technological progress. At the same time, the share of labor in national income decreased in most advanced countries. This paper uses a labor share equation derived from a translog revenue function to estimate the contributions of globalization, technological progress, and labor market policies to the decline in the labor share. The results, obtained for 18 advanced countries over 1982- 2002, suggest that globalization was only one of several factors that have affected the labor share. Technological progress, especially in the information and communications sectors, has had a bigger impact, particularly on the labor share in unskilled sectors. |
| Keywords: | Globalization , Labor , Labor markets , International trade , Immigration , Information technology , |
| Date: | 2008–01–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:07/298&r=lab |
| By: | Elena Stancanelli (Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the employment impact of a new tax-credit programme that was put in place in France in 2001. We study the introduction of both this measure and a later reform in 2004 that made the tax credit cashable in advance upon returning to work. We adopt a non-experimental evaluation method. The data for the analysis are drawn from the French Labour Force Surveys over the period 1999 to 2005. Due to the break in the French LFS series in 2003, we analyze separately the two periods 1999-2002 and 2003-05, as well as pooling the data over 1999-2005, under particular assumptions. We find evidence of a significantly negative employment effect for married women, with a reduction of about 3.2-3.4 percentage points in their employment rate after the introduction of the policy. The impact is positive and weakly significant for cohabiting women, while positive but statistically insignificant for lone mothers. We do not find any evidence of an additional effect of the tax credit due to the cashable advance credit reform of 2004. |
| Keywords: | policy evaluation; difference-in-differences estimator; labour supply |
| JEL: | C34 I38 J21 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fce:doctra:0733&r=lab |
| By: | John Bound (University of Michigan); Timothy Waidmann (The Urban Institute) |
| Abstract: | We estimate the magnitude of any direct effect of retirement on health. Since retirement is endogenous to heath, it is not possible to estimate this effect by comparing the health of individuals before and after they retire. As an alternative we use institutional features of the pension system in the United Kingdom that are exogenous to the individual to isolate exogenous variation in retirement behavior. Data used will include both vital statistics and survey data that include both "objective" physical measurements and respondent self-reports. We find no evidence of negative health effects of retirement and some evidence that there may be a positive effect, at least for men. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp168&r=lab |
| By: | André van Stel; Roy Thurik; David Audretsch; Martin Carree |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the dynamic relationship between self-employment and unemployment rates. On the one hand, high unemployment rates may lead to start-up activity of self-employed individuals (the 'refugee' effect). On the other hand, higher rates of self-employment may indicate increased entrepreneurial activity reducing unemployment in subsequent periods (the 'entrepreneurial' effect). This paper introduces a new two-equation vector autoregression model capable of reconciling these ambiguities and estimates it for data from 23 OECD countries between 1974 and 2002. The empirical results confirm the existence of two distinct relationships between unemployment and self-employment: the 'refugee' and 'entrepreneurial' effects. We also find that the 'entrepreneurial' effects are considerably stronger than the 'refugee' effects. This is an updated version of SCALES-paper N200504. |
| Date: | 2007–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h200709&r=lab |
| By: | Helen Levy (University of Michigan); David R. Weir (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | We analyze newly available data from the Health and Retirement Study on senior citizens’ take-up of Medicare Part D and the associated SSA Low-Income Subsidy. We find that economic factors specifically, demand for prescription drugs drove the decision to enroll in Part D. For the most part, individuals with employer-sponsored coverage in 2004 kept that coverage, as they should have. Individuals with no prescription drug coverage in 2004 mostly enrolled in Part D or obtained other coverage; many of those who remained without coverage reported that they do not use prescribed medicines. Take-up of the SSA "Extra Help" subsidy seems to have been more problematic, with many Part D beneficiaries unaware of the subsidy program or unsure about their eligibility. There is apparent under-reporting in the HRS of participation in the subsidy program, suggesting that some who profess to be unaware of the program may actually be participating in it. In terms of respondents’ subjective experiences of decision-making, the majority report having had little or no difficulty with the Part D enrollment decision and being confident that they made the right decision. Thus, for the most part, despite the complexity of the program, Medicare beneficiaries seem to have been able to make economically rational decisions in which they had confidence, although additional intervention for low-income beneficiaries may be desirable. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp163&r=lab |
| By: | Otten, Jordan J.A.; Heugens, Pursey P.M.A.R |
| Abstract: | Contextual factors are typically neglected in both theorizing and empirical tests on executive pay. The fast majority of empirical investigations use data from U.S. based firms. Theoretical implications are typically developed, understood and tested on the basis of the U.S. context. However, the U.S. case is not the world wide standard. Pay in other countries is on average considerably lower and have a different pay mix. The puzzle that from the typical use of agency theory can’t be explained is the variance of pay practices that exist not only within countries but also across countries. This paper extends scholars renewed attention to managerial power theory on executive pay. It sets out how and why institutional theory must be included in explanations of executive pay. On the basis of a sample of executive pay packages from 17 different countries we test the theoretical extensions. Results indicate that institutions interact with firm level determinants of executive pay. Explanations for executive pay should therefore account for the variance of pay practices within and across countries. Highlighting that the institutional embeddedness of pay practices play an important role in finding conclusive explanations of current pay practices. |
| Keywords: | Executive compensation; corporate governance; managerial discretion; power; agency theory; institutional theory |
| JEL: | B52 G34 G28 M52 M10 |
| Date: | 2007–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:6778&r=lab |
| By: | Nicole Maestas (RAND); Xiaoyan Li (RAND) |
| Abstract: | We introduce the process of psychological burnout and recovery as an explanation for the phenomenon known as unretirement. We illustrate theoretically how predictable time variation in burnout could generate retirement and subsequent re-entry in a standard retirement model. We apply this model to the longitudinal Health and Retirement Study, presenting a novel measure of burnout, the Burnout EX3 Index. The index is correlated with different types of work stressors, and its time profile discriminates among different types of retirees. For example, prior to retirement, burnout rises steeply for future unretirees then falls rapidly after retirement; whereas burnout among future partial retirees is low and changes little over time. Using a series of econometric models derived from our theoretical model, we show that as burnout rises, retirement becomes more probable, and as burnout recedes following retirement, re-entry becomes more probable. While access to public and private pension benefits increases the likelihood of retirement for all retirees, pension accruals are least important for those who will later unretire, suggesting that unretirees are more willing to trade future gains in pension wealth for leisure than other retirees. Indeed, for this group, the effect of burnout dominates that of the net return to work. |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp166&r=lab |
| By: | Nadège Marchand; Claude Montmarquette |
| Abstract: | Our study considers the question of training in firms using an experimental laboratory approach. We investigate the following questions : What conditions, excluding external certification, will bring workers and employers to cooperate and share a rent generated by the workers' training? What conditions will induce workers to accept the training offer, for employers to initially offer the training and to reward the trained workers in the last stage of the game? We analyse the impact of the size of the rent created by training and the existence of an information system on employer reputation rewarding trained employees. Reputation does matter to induce cooperation, but in the absence of external institutions, coordination on the optimal outcome remains difficult. <P>Nous étudions les déterminants de la formation des travailleurs en entreprises en mobilisant l’économie expérimentale. Nous voulons répondre aux questions suivantes : Sous quelles conditions, excluant la formule d’une accréditation externe, les travailleurs et les employeurs acceptent de collaborer dans la formation des travailleurs? Sous quelles conditions une offre de formation est proposée par l’employeur, acceptée par le travailleur, et honorée par l’employeur dans la dernière phase du jeu? L’étude montre l’impact du niveau des gains générés par la formation sur la coopération entre employeurs et travailleurs. Elle montre également qu’un système d’information qui révèle aux travailleurs la réputation de l’employeur à honorer ses promesses, favorise la coopération et la formation des travailleurs. Mais, néanmoins, sans institution externe validant la formation reçue, la coopération optimale demeure difficile à réaliser. |
| Keywords: | general and specific training in firms, accreditation, cooperation and reputation, experimental economics., formation générale et spécifique en entreprises, accréditation, coopération et réputation, économie expérimentale. |
| JEL: | C91 |
| Date: | 2008–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2008s-01&r=lab |
| By: | André van Stel; Peter Brouwer; Sander Wennekers; Jolanda Hessels |
| Abstract: | This exploratory study defines a number of propositions regarding the relation between social security arrangements and the rate of early-stage entrepreneurial activity at the country level. We state that in investigating this relation it may be relevant to distinguish between social security contributions paid by employers and employees, and to look at micro-based indicators (replacement rates) for the benefits an individual is entitled to in case of unemployment and illness. Furthermore, we state that it may be especially relevant to focus on the social security position of self-employed relative to the social security position of employees. Using a sample of countries participating in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, we explore how various measures of entrepreneurial activity are related to various measures of social security arrangements. Our analysis using aggregate indicators shows that the height of employer social security contributions negatively influences entrepreneurial activity at the macro level, but that the height of employee contributions has no impact. The results of our analysis using micro-level based indicators suggest that the replacement rate of employees has a significantly negative influence on the level of early-stage entrepreneurship at the macro level. |
| Date: | 2007–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h200708&r=lab |
| By: | Mehar, Ayub |
| Abstract: | Regional-based quota in public sector employment was always considered as one of the important cause of the ethnic politics in Pakistan and particularly in Karachi. The majority of educated youth and middle classers in Pakistan belong to the urban areas and big cities where public sector employment is a frictional part of the total employment. However, households’ economic statuses in those areas are closely related with the employment status of the households’ members. This study has one objective only: to test the hypothesis that socio-economic variation between the ethnic groups was the origin of the emerging ethnic politics in Karachi. The disparities in income, employment and social status have been compared between the nine ethnic groups of Karachi. It is noteworthy that statistical evidences have rejected the hypothesis that rise in ethnic politics was a consequence of socio-economic discrepancies between the ethnic groups. |
| Keywords: | Ethnicity; Income Disparities; Social Status |
| JEL: | R0 Z10 |
| Date: | 2003 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:6821&r=lab |
| By: | Sebastian Braun; Nadja Dwenger; Dorothea Kübler |
| Abstract: | We investigate the matching algorithm used by the German central clearinghouse for university admissions (ZVS) in medicine and related subjects. This mechanism consists of three procedures based on final grades from school ("Abiturbestenverfahren", "Auswahlverfahren der Hochschulen") and on waiting time ("Wartezeitverfahren"). While these procedures differ in the criteria applied for admission they all make use of priority matching. In priority matching schemes, it is not a dominant strategy for students to submit their true preferences. Thus, strategic behaviour is expected. Using the full data set of applicants, we are able to detect some amount of strategic behaviour which can lead to inefficient matching. Alternative ways to organize the market are briefly discussed. |
| Keywords: | Matching, university admissions, strategic behaviour |
| JEL: | C78 D02 D78 I29 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp759&r=lab |
| By: | Bernarda Zamora (Universidad de Alicante); Eduard Gracia (Booz Allen Hamilton) |
| Abstract: | The present paper follows the rationality of the Human Capital Theory to explain the heterogeneity of returns to schooling in a policy evaluation model with the purpose of testing whether people are blocked in any way (credit constraints, uncertainty or other market environment conditions) when they make their schooling choices. The minimal assumption that abler people face lower costs of schooling guarantees the possibility of making the right choice in this framework. The empirical implications of the model are extended further from the properties of ordinary least squares and instrumental variable estimators and centred on predictions about the sign of different policy evaluation parameters (sorting gains and selection biases) and on the shape and variability of marginal returns to education. Within this framework, the paper revises the modern empirical literature on returns to schooling in combination with the theoretical literature on human capital. Empirical evidence for the U.S., shown by a binary choice model, supports the assumption. Evidence obtained from Spanish data in a sequential choice setting does not support the assumption. |
| Keywords: | Ability gap, Schooling, Selection Models, Heterogeneity |
| JEL: | C10 D84 I21 J31 |
| Date: | 2007–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2007-29&r=lab |
| By: | Jan de Kok; A. Roepers |
| Abstract: | With performance-related pay, the reward for an employee is partly dependent upon its own performance and/or on the performance of the organisation. In the Netherlands, performance-related pay is being implemented in SMEs an increasing scale. Currently, about 25% of Dutch SMEs make use of some kind of performance-related pay scheme, which may include profit sharing, bonuses, gratuities and stock options. The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of the usage of performance-related pay schemes in Dutch small and medium-sized enterprises. In particular, we examine whether firm size, ownership structure, and gender of the entrepreneur and employees predict the presence of performance-related pay schemes. The results show that larger SMEs are more likely to use performance-related pay than smaller SMEs (as can be expected). We also find strong support for the presence of a gender effect. The results indicate that for male entrepreneurs, the use of performance-related pay is independent of the gender composition of the work force. For female entrepreneurs, we find that the usage of performance-related pay increases with the share of male employees. This relationship is such, that for firms where more than 70% of the workforce is male, female entrepreneurs are more likely to apply performance-related pay then male entrepreneurs. A possible explanation is that female entrepreneurs are more inclined to take the preferences of their employees into account when they determine the compensation scheme of their enterprise. Finally, the ownership structure also seems to matter. The results suggest that we should differentiate between (at least) three different ownership structures: single-owned and managed firms, family firms (firms with multiple owners that have family ties between them), and multiple-owned non-family firms. Once we do so, we find that single-owned and managed firms are just as likely to use performance-related pay schemes as family firms. Both types of firms use performance-related pay significantly less often than multiple-owned non-family firms. |
| Date: | 2007–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:h200722&r=lab |
| By: | Johannes P. Jütting; Jante Parlevliet; Theodora Xenogiani |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a fresh look at informal employment, a phenomenon of renewed interest to policy makers and researchers alike. It finds that informal employment is likely to stay, is sometimes a voluntary choice, can offer better working conditions than formal employment and is very heterogeneous and diverse. Reasons for these puzzling facts and trends are discussed by focussing on incentives and constraints determining labour market outcomes. “Reloading” informal employment argues for a re-thinking of the current policy agenda and maps out important further directions for research. <BR>Cette publication porte un nouveau regard sur l'emploi informel, un phénomène qui suscite un regain d'intérêt aussi bien de la part des politiciens que des chercheurs. D’après la publication, l'emploi informel va en toute probabilité durer, qu’il est parfois un choix volontaire, qu’il peut offrir de meilleures conditions de travail que l'emploi formel, il est très hétérogène et diversifié. Les discussions autour des raisons de ces faits étonnants et des tendances sont basées à la fois sur les encouragements et sur les contraintes qui déterminent les débouchés du marché du travail. Remettre au goût du jour l'emploi informel suppose de repenser le programme politique actuel et trace de plus amples directions pour la recherche. |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:devaaa:266-en&r=lab |