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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Kamila Fialová (Komerční Banka, Prague; Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic); Martina Mysíková (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic; Institute of Sociology of the Academy of Sciences, Prague) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to quantify the impact of the minimum wage on labour market performance in the Czech Republic. Using regional data for 1995-2004, it estimates the effect of the minimum wage adjusted for regional wage differential on the regional unemployment. Consequently, using detail individual data from 2004/2005, we analyze the annual hikes in the minimum wage that allow us to estimate employment probabilities for workers with wage level at, or close to, the new minimum wage. The aim is to reveal whether the most endangered groups of workers exhibited significantly different employment probabilities. Our results reveal that the minimum wage has had a significant impact on increasing regional unemployment and reducing the employment probabilities of low-paid workers. |
| Keywords: | minimum wage, employment probability, unemployment |
| JEL: | E24 J38 J64 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2009_06&r=lab |
| By: | Riddell, W. Craig; Song, Xueda |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the causal effects of education on individuals’ adaptability to employment shocks. Specifically, we assess the extent to which education influences re-employment success for unemployed workers. We also examine the impact of education on job search intensity, one potential mechanism through which education may increase the probability of re-employment following unemployment. Given that the positive correlation between education and adaptability is likely to be confounded by the endogeneity of education, we make use of data on compulsory schooling laws to create instrumental variables to assess the causal effects of education on adaptability. Based on data from the Canadian Census and the Labour Force Survey, we find that education both significantly improves re-employment opportunities and exerts significant positive impacts on job search intensity for the unemployed. |
| Keywords: | Education, Human Capital, Adaptability, Displaced Workers, Unemployment, Job Search, Casual Effects, Compulsory Schooling Laws |
| JEL: | I21 J64 |
| Date: | 2009–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2009-15&r=lab |
| By: | Chulhee Lee |
| Abstract: | This study explores how technological, organizational, and managerial changes affected the labor-market status of older male manufacturing workers in early twentieth century America. Industrial characteristics that were favorably related to the labor-market status of older industrial workers include: higher labor productivity, less capital- and material-intensive production, a shorter workday, lower intensity of work, greater job flexibility, and more formalized employment relationship. Technical innovations that improved productivity often negatively affected the quality of the work environment of older workers. These results suggest that the technological transformations in the Industrial Era brought mixed consequences to the labor-market status of older workers. On one hand, technical and organizational modifications improved the elderly workers’ employment prospect by raising labor productivity, diminishing hours of work, and formalizing employment relations. On the other hand, some types of technical innovations, which are characterized by additional requirements for physical strength, mental agility, and ability to acquire new skills, forced older workers out of their jobs. Since the pace and nature of technical change considerably differed across industries, and possibly across firms within the same industry, the labor-market experiences of individual older workers should have been highly heterogeneous. |
| JEL: | J26 J64 J81 N31 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14746&r=lab |
| By: | Schirle, Tammy |
| Abstract: | In this paper I estimate the magnitude of earnings losses faced by workers who are displaced when over the age of 50. This is potentially complicated by the self-selection of older individuals out of the labour force and into activities such as retirement, preventing observation of their potential earnings losses. Using data from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (1993-2004), I use a Heckman selection model that accounts for individuals’ departure from the labour force following displacement. Results indicate that self-selection is an important factor to consider when studying the earnings of older workers but does not bias estimates of earnings losses due to displacement. Further, the results suggest that workers over 50 do not face larger earnings losses upon displacement than 35-49 year olds. Losses are only slightly larger than that experienced by 25-34 year olds. Consistent with the existing literature, those workers displaced over 50 with high tenure on the lost job experience the largest earnings losses. |
| Keywords: | Layoffs, Wage Level, Wage Structure, Retirement, Retirement Policies |
| JEL: | J63 J31 J26 |
| Date: | 2009–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2009-17&r=lab |
| By: | Hart, Robert A. |
| Abstract: | Between mid-1939 and mid-1943 almost 2.2 million additional women were recruited into Britain's essential war industries. These consisted, predominantly, of young women recruited into metal and chemical industries. Much of the increased labour supply was achieved through government directed labour initiatives. This culminated, in January 1942, with the Control of Engagement Order whereby women between the ages of 18 and 40 who either entered the labour market or who changed employment were compulsorily directed into jobs and industries that were vital to the war effort. There were also many woman volunteers for such work, partly due to the fact that extreme labour scarcity drove up relative female wage rates. At least 42% of the 18-20 age cohorts and 32% of the 21- 25 age cohorts in 1943 worked in the essential industries. Two-thirds of those involved owed their jobs to wartime industrial expansion. The majority of such women entered a world of work that had been previously dominated by men. They obtained considerable training, job experience and pay advantages compared to subsequent age cohorts who were not eligible for war work. This bestowed on them subsequent labour market advantages that would otherwise not have occurred. Using a regression discontinuity design the empirical work shows that the long term earnings benefits of those age cohorts eligible for conscription, measured 30 years after the war, were in the order of between 2% and 9% higher than the age cohorts that followed them. |
| Keywords: | WWII female employment; essential war industries; long-term real wages; regression discontinuity design |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stl:stledp:2009-05&r=lab |
| By: | Jan Høgelund, (Danish National Centre for Social Research, Copenhagen); Anders Holm (Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen); James McIntosh (Concordia University, Quebec) |
| Abstract: | Using Danish register and survey data, we examine the effect of a national graded return-to-work program on the probability of sick-listed workers returning to regular working hours. During program participation, the worker receives the normal hourly wage for the hours worked and sickness benefit for the hours off work. When the worker’s health improves, working hours are increased until the sick-listed worker is able to work regular hours. Taking account of unobserved differences between program participants and non-participants, we find that participation in the program significantly increases the probability of returning to regular working hours. |
| JEL: | C41 I18 J64 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kuieca:2009_06&r=lab |
| By: | Philip Du Caju (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department, Boulevard de Berlaimont 14, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.); Catherine Fuss (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department, Boulevard de Berlaimont 14, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.); Ladislav Wintr (Central Bank of Luxembourg, Economics and Research Department, 2 boulevard Royal, L–2983 Luxembourg, Luxembourg.) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether differences in wage rigidity across sectors can be explained by differences in workforce composition, competition, technology and wage-bargaining institutions. We adopt the measure of downward real wage rigidity (DRWR) developed by Dickens and Goette (2006) and rely on a large administrative matched employer-employee dataset for Belgium over the period 1990-2002. Firstly, our results indicate that DRWR is significantly higher for white-collar workers and lower for older workers and for workers with higher earnings and bonuses. Secondly, beyond labour force composition effects, sectoral differences in DRWR are related to competition, firm size, technology and wage bargaining institutions. We find that wages are more rigid in more competitive sectors, in labour-intensive sectors, and in sectors with predominant centralised wage setting at the sector level as opposed to firm-level wage agreements. JEL Classification: J31. |
| Keywords: | wage rigidity, matched employer-employee data, wage-bargaining institutions. |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:200901006&r=lab |
| By: | Gregory de Walque (National Bank of Belgium, Boulevard de Berlaimont 14, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.); Olivier Pierrard (Central Bank of Luxembourg, 2 boulevard Royal, L–2983 Luxembourg, Luxembourg.); Henri Sneessens (Central Bank of Luxembourg, Economics and Research Department, 2 boulevard Royal, L–2983 Luxembourg, Luxembourg.); Raf Wouters (National Bank of Belgium, Boulevard de Berlaimont 14, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.) |
| Abstract: | We consider a model with frictional unemployment and staggered wage bargaining where hours worked are negotiated every period. The workers’ bargaining power in the hours negotiation affects both unemployment volatility and inflation persistence. The closer to zero this parameter, (i) the more firms adjust on the intensive margin, reducing employment volatility, (ii) the lower the effective workers’ bargaining power for wages and (iii) the more important the hourly wage in the marginal cost determination. This set-up produces realistic labor market statistics together with inflation persistence. Distinguishing the probability to bargain the wage of the existing and the new jobs, we show that the intensive margin helps reduce the new entrants wage rigidity required to match observed unemployment volatility. JEL Classification: E31, E32, E52, J64. |
| Keywords: | DSGE, Search and Matching, Nominal Wage Rigidity, Monetary Policy. |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:200901007&r=lab |
| By: | Brown, Sarah (University of Sheffield); Taylor, Karl (University of Sheffield) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyse the role of wage expectations in an empirical model of incomplete spells of unemployment and reservation wages. To be specific, we model the duration of unemployment, reservation wages and expected wages simultaneously for a sample of individuals who are not in work, where wage expectations are identified via an exogenous policy shock based upon the introduction of Working Family Tax Credits (WFTC) in the UK. The results from the empirical analysis, which is based on the British Household Panel Survey, suggest that WFTC eligibility served to increase expected wages and that expected wages are positively associated with reservation wages. In addition, incorporating wage expectations into the econometric framework was found to influence the magnitude of the key elasticities: namely the elasticity of unemployment duration with respect to the reservation wage and the elasticity of the reservation wage with respect to unemployment duration. |
| Keywords: | unemployment duration, reservation wages, expected wages |
| JEL: | J13 J24 J64 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3981&r=lab |
| By: | Joseph G. Altonji; Anthony Smith; Ivan Vidangos |
| Abstract: | In this paper we use indirect inference to estimate a joint model of earnings, employment, job changes, wage rates, and work hours over a career. Our model incorporates duration dependence in several variables, multiple sources of unobserved heterogeneity, job-specific error components in both wages and hours, and measurement error. We use the model to address a number of important questions in labor economics, including the source of the experience profile of wages, the response of job changes to outside wage offers, and the effects of seniority on job changes. We provide estimates of the dynamic response of wage rates, hours, and earnings to various shocks and measure the relative contributions of the shocks to the variance of earnings in a given year and over a lifetime. We find that human capital accounts for most of the growth of earnings over a career although job seniority and job mobility also play significant roles. Unemployment shocks have a large impact on earnings in the short run as well a substantial long long-term effect that operates through the wage rate. Shocks associated with job changes and unemployment make a large contribution to the variance of career earnings and operate mostly through the job-specific error components in wages and hours. |
| JEL: | D31 E21 J3 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14743&r=lab |
| By: | Holden , Steinar (Dept. of Economics, University of Oslo); Wulfsberg, Fredrik (Norges Bank) |
| Abstract: | A number of recent studies have documented extensive downward nominal wage rigidity (dnwr) for job stayers in many oecd countries. However, DNWR for individual workers may induce downward rigidity or “a floor” for the aggregate wage growth at positive or negative levels. Aggregate wage growth may be below zero because of compositional effects, for example that old, high-wage workers are replaced by young low-wage workers. dnwr may also lead to a positive growth in aggregate wages because of changes in relative wages. We explore industry data for 19 oecd countries, over the period 1971–2006. We find evidence for floors on nominal wage growth at 6 percent and lower in the 1970s and 1980s, at one percent in the 1990s, and at 0.5 percent in the 2000s. Furthermore, we find that dnwr is stronger in country-years with strict employment protection legislation, high union density, centralised wage setting and high inflation. |
| Keywords: | OECD; wage setting |
| JEL: | C14 C15 E31 J30 J50 |
| Date: | 2009–01–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:osloec:2009_003&r=lab |
| By: | Daniel F. Heuermann (Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the EC, University of Trier) |
| Abstract: | Inspired by the literature on the importance of career networks for the quality of labor market matches we investigate whether human capital externalities arise from higher job matching efficiency in skilled regions. Using two samples of highly qualified workers in Germany, we find that increasing the regional share of highly qualified workers by one standard deviation raises wages on the incidence of job change by up to three percent, pointing to the importance of improved job matching opportunities in human capital rich regions as a microeconomic source of human capital externalities. Evidence on regional differences in job change behavior suggests that human capital networks enable young workers to change jobs more easily and to thereby increase matching efficiency, which in turn reduces the overall number of job changes needed until an efficient match is reached. Benefits from improved matching opportunities predominantly arise from human capital networks enabling workers in skilled regions to change jobs within an industry and, thus, to capitalize on their industry-specific human capital. |
| Keywords: | Human Capital Externalities, Job Matching, Agglomeration Economies |
| JEL: | D62 J24 J31 R11 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaa:wpaper:200901&r=lab |
| By: | Victor Aguirregabiria; Cesar Alonso-Borrego |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates the effects on employment, job turnover and productivity of a labor market reform in Spain that eliminated dismissal costs for fixed-term or temporary contracts. Our empirical results are based on a panel of 2356 Spanish manufacturing firms for the period 1982-1993. We postulate and estimate a dynamic labor demand model with indefinite and fixed-term labor contracts, and a general structure of labor adjustment costs. Experiments using the estimated model show important positive effects of the reform on total employment (i.e., a 3.5% increase) and job turnover. There is a strong substitution of permanent by temporary workers (i.e., a 10% decline in permanent employment). The effects on labor productivity and the value of a firm are very small. These effects contrast with the ones of a counterfactual reform consisting in halving firing costs of all type of contracts. That policy implies the same increase in total employment, but much larger improvements in productivity, and the value of firms. |
| Keywords: | Labor demand, Firing costs, Temporary contracts, Estimation of dynamic structural models |
| JEL: | C35 C51 J23 J32 |
| Date: | 2009–02–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-346&r=lab |
| By: | Koskela, Erkki (University of Helsinki); Poutvaara, Panu (University of Helsinki) |
| Abstract: | We study the effects of revenue-neutral labor tax reforms in an imperfectly competitive domestic labor market under Nash wage bargaining and flexible outsourcing. A revenue-neutral increase in the wage tax progression will decrease the negotiated wage rate, increase domestic labor demand and decrease international outsourcing. In the presence of wage tax exemption, a lower payroll tax and a higher wage tax will increase domestic labor demand and decrease international outsourcing. The effect on the negotiated wage rate is positive with sufficiently strong labor market imperfections, and ambiguous with sufficiently weak labor market imperfections. |
| Keywords: | flexible outsourcing, wage bargaining, employment, tax-revenue neutral labor tax reforms |
| JEL: | H11 H22 J41 J51 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3984&r=lab |
| By: | Guido Menzio; Shouyong Shi |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we develop a general stochastic model of directed search on the job. Analogous to models of random search on the job, the state of the economy in our model includes the infinite-dimensional distribution of workers across different employment states (unemployment, and employment at different wages). Unlike the models of random search on the job, our model admits an equilibrium in which agents' value and policy functions do not depend on the distribution of workers. We refer to this type of equilibrium as a Block Recursive Equilibrium (BRE). Therefore, while solving the equilibrium of a random search model in a stochastic environment is a difficult task both analytically and computationally, solving the Block Recursive Equilibrium of our model is as easy as solving a representative agent model. We prove existence of a BRE under various specifications of workers' preferences and contractual environments, including dynamic contracts and fixed-wage contracts. |
| Keywords: | Directed Search; On the Job Search; Heterogeneity; Aggregate Fluctuations |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J64 |
| Date: | 2009–02–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-347&r=lab |
| By: | Shintaro Yamaguchi |
| Abstract: | This paper constructs and estimates a model of strategic wage bargaining with on-the-job search to explore three different components of wages: general human capital, match-specific capital, and outside option. As the workers find better job opportunities, the current employer has to compete with outside firms to retain them. This between-firm competition results in wage growth even when productivity remains the same. The model is estimated by a simulated minimum distance estimator and data from the NLSY79. The results indicate that the improved value of outside option raises wages of ten-year-experienced workers by 16%. |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd08-026&r=lab |
| By: | Jane Leber Herr; Catherine Wolfram |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the propensity of highly educated women to exit the labor force at motherhood. We focus on systematic differences across women with various graduate degrees to analyze whether these speak to differences in the capacity to combine children with work over a variety of high-education career paths. Working with a sample of Harvard alumnae observed 10 and 15 years after graduation, we find that the labor force attachment of mothers at the 15th year is highest among MDs (94 percent) and lowest among MBAs (72 percent) and women with no advanced degree (69 percent). We then use a rich set of biographical information on the alumnae, combined with data on their workplaces, to try to disentangle whether the working patterns observed reflect selection on the types of women pursuing different graduate degrees, or variation in the difficulty of combining work with family along different career paths. Our results suggest that work environments contribute to women's decision to exit the labor force at motherhood. |
| JEL: | J01 J13 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14717&r=lab |
| By: | K.V. Ramaswamy (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the question of wage inequality in Indian manufacturing in the years of trade and investment liberalization. The objective is to test the hypothesis of skill biased technological change (SBTC) due to capital-skill complementarity and the impact of labour regulations on wage inequality between skilled and unskilled labour. The skill-wage bill share equation is estimated for a panel of 46 three-digit industries spanning the period 1981-2004 followed by 113 four-digit industries panel covering the period 1993 to 2004.The econometric results suggest the positive contribution of change in output (scale effect), capital-output ratio and contract-worker intensity to wage inequality in Indian manufacturing. |
| Keywords: | wages inequality, skill technological change labour manufacturing |
| JEL: | F16 J31 O12 |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2008-021&r=lab |
| By: | Bergemann, Annette (Free University of Amsterdam); Riphahn, Regina T. (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | We study the labor supply effects of a change in child-subsidy policy designed to both increase fertility and shorten birth-related employment interruptions. The reform yields most of the intended effects. |
| Keywords: | female labor supply, fertility, child subsidy, parents money |
| JEL: | J13 J21 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3982&r=lab |
| By: | Nicodemo, Catia (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); Waldmann, Robert (University of Rome Tor Vergata) |
| Abstract: | Parents in the labor force have balance their work and home life, including the choice of the type of care to provide for their children while they work. In this paper we study the connection between the married women's labor force participation, child care arrangements and the time that husbands and wives spent to take care of children in Mediterranean countries. As more women now are in the labor force the interest in the use child care and housework of husband have grown. We use the new database from the EU-SILC (European Survey on Income and Living Conditions) in 2006 and data from the ECHP (European Community Household Panel)in 2001, because these two data-set give us different information about child care and housework. The traditional role of mothers in child care activities is highly valued by many families, especially in Southern European countries. The results show that while Mediterranean countries have advanced in the incorporation of women into the labor market, most of them still have to assume total responsibility for housework and the care of the children. Child care arrangements is an important instrument for women to enter in paid employment. |
| Keywords: | unpaid work, child care arrangements, labor supply |
| JEL: | J13 J21 C1 C3 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3983&r=lab |
| By: | Victoria Osuna (Department of Economics, Universidad Pablo de Olavide) |
| Abstract: | This paper compares the macroeconomic implications of taxing overtime and using two kinds of subsidies, an employment and a wage subsidy, in a model where team work and commuting costs subject to congestion are key determinants of the choice of the workweek. To obtain reliable estimates, I calibrate the model to the substitutability between the workweek and employment using business cycle information. I find that subsidizing employment can achieve the same employment increase than taxing overtime but at a lower cost in terms of output, productivity, wages and welfare. The wage subsidy that achieves the same employment increase turns out to be very costly from a fiscal point of view, 12.7% of output versus 4.57% of output in the employment subsidy experiment. |
| Keywords: | Overtime taxation, Subsidies, Workweek, Team Work, Commuting costs. |
| JEL: | E60 H25 J08 J22 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pab:wpaper:09.03&r=lab |
| By: | Casey Mulligan |
| Abstract: | A labor market tautology says that any change in labor usage can be decomposed into a movement along a marginal productivity schedule and a shift of the schedule. I calculate this decomposition for the recession of 2008, assuming an aggregate Cobb-Douglas marginal productivity schedule, and find that all of the decline in employment and hours since December 2007 is a movement along the schedule. This finding suggests that a reduction in labor supply and/or an increase in labor market distortions are major factors in the 2008 recession. The decline in aggregate consumption suggests that the reduction in labor supply (if any) is neither a wealth nor an intertemporal substitution effect. "Sticky real wages" or the emergence of significant work disincentives are possible explanations for these findings. |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J22 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14729&r=lab |
| By: | Lex Borghans; Bas ter Weel |
| Abstract: | We review the empirical literature about the implications of the computerization of the labor market to see whether it can explain observed computer adoption patterns and (long-term) changes in the wage structure. Evidence from empirical micro studies turns out to be inconsistent with macro studies that are based on CES production functions. We propose a micro foundation for the CES production function that allows for changes in the underlying structure. We adapt the macro model by incorporating computer skills, complementary skills and fixed costs for computer technology usage suggested by the micro literature. It turns out that fixed costs for computer technology usage explain different patterns of computer adoption and diffusion between several types of workers and countries; it also provides very plausible patterns of the timing of wage inequality and developments over time. |
| Keywords: | wage level or structure; computer technology; technology diffusion |
| JEL: | J31 O15 O33 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:117&r=lab |
| By: | Engström, Per (IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation); Hesselius, Patrik (IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation); Holmlund, Bertil (Department of Economics, Uppsala University) |
| Abstract: | One goal of the public employment service is to facilitate matching between unemployed job seekers and job vacancies; another goal is to monitor job search so as to bring search efforts among the unemployed in line with search requirements. The referral of job seekers to vacancies is one instrument used for these purposes. We report results from a randomized Swedish experiment where the outcome of referrals is examined. To what extent do unemployed individuals actually apply for the jobs they are referred to? Does information to job seekers about increased monitoring affect the probability of applying and the probability of leaving unemployment? The experiment indicates that a relatively large fraction (one third) of the referrals do not result in job applications. Information about intensified monitoring causes an increase in the probability of job application, especially among young people. However, we find no significant impact on the duration of unemployment. |
| Keywords: | vacancy referral; job matching; job search; randomized experiment |
| JEL: | C99 J64 J68 |
| Date: | 2009–02–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2009_003&r=lab |
| By: | Fabio Rumler (Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Economic Analysis Division, Otto-Wagner-Platz 3, POB 61, A-1011 Vienna, Austria.); Johann Scharler (Department of Economics, University of Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, A-4040 Linz, Austria.) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze empirically how labor market institutions influence business cycle volatility in a sample of 20 OECD countries. Our results suggest that countries characterized by high union density tend to experience more volatile movements in output, whereas the degree of coordination of the wage bargaining system and strictness of employment protection legislation appear to play a limited role for output volatility. We also find some evidence suggesting that highly coordinated wage bargaining systems have a dampening impact on inflation volatility. JEL Classification: E31, E32. |
| Keywords: | Business Cycles, Inflation, Labor Market Institutions. |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:200901005&r=lab |
| By: | Juan A. Lacomba (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.); Francisco M. Lagos (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.) |
| Abstract: | We compare a Social Security system where people can retire at the age of their own choice with one in which there is a legal retirement age elected through a majority voting process. We analyze how incentives on retirement decisions change depending on the retirement rules. We show that individuals prefer a legal retirement age higher than that they would choose in the flexible scheme since in this scheme they ignore the impact of their decisions on the Social Security budget constraint. In spite of that, we show that when the legal retirement age significantly limits the retirement age of high-wage workers, a flexible scheme would improve the financing of the pension system. Finally, we show that even when pension benefits are higher with a legal retirement age, a flexible system might be implemented since it would be preferred by a majority of the population composed by low- and high-wage workers. |
| Keywords: | Social security, Flexible retirement, Legal retirement age. |
| JEL: | H55 J26 |
| Date: | 2009–01–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gra:wpaper:09/01&r=lab |
| By: | Allen Head (Queen's University); Huw Lloyd-Ellis (Queen's University) |
| Abstract: | The relationships among geographical mobility, unemployment and the value of owner-occupied housing are studied in an economy with heterogeneous locations and search frictions in the markets for both labour and houses. Di¤erences in labour market conditions between cities affect the speed with which houses may be sold--that is, the liquidity of housing. At the same time housing market conditions affect employment decisions and thus the allocation of labour across cities. In equilibrium, unemployment rates for home-owners are higher than for otherwise identical renters. Unemployment and home-ownership rates are, however, negatively correlated across cities. In a parameterized example we find that, although renters are much more mobile than owners, the impact of home-ownership on aggregate unemployment is quantitatively small. |
| Keywords: | liquidity, mobility, home-ownership, unemployment |
| JEL: | J61 J64 R23 |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:wpaper:1197&r=lab |
| By: | Isabelle TERRAZ |
| Abstract: | Market power of workers on wages is bound to affect economic performances. This paper focuses on this issue and analyse the influence of bargaining structures on growth and labor market functioning. To achieve this, we construct an endogenous growth model where growth appears as the result of a learning-by-doing process whereas imperfect information in the labor market implies matching frictions in the hiring process. If investment occurs before wage bargaining, the growth process can be durably altered. In this case, a higher bargaining power of worker does not give a clear-cut effect on growth. |
| Keywords: | Bargaining structures; Equilibrium Unemployment; Endogenous growth; Learning-by-doing. |
| JEL: | E24 J50 J64 O40 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2009-03&r=lab |
| By: | Andrés Fuentes |
| Abstract: | Impressive progress has been made in raising participation in early childhood education as well as tertiary educational attainment over the past 30 years. However, the inflow of poorly educated youth into the labour market is unusually heavy for a high-income country, largely on account of high drop-out rates in lower secondary education which, in turn, reflect one of the highest grade repetition rates in the OECD. The supply of workers with intermediate vocational skills is surprisingly low, despite the high return, in terms of labour market outcomes that these skills offer, even if they have recently deteriorated. There is room to raise learning outcomes up to the end of compulsory school, as measured by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), although, owing to a compressed distribution of such outcomes, the share of poorly performing pupils is not unusually large. While significant reforms have been undertaken to address these problems, more measures are needed to reduce grade repetition and raise education outcomes, by improving accountability of schools and school staff, as well as by raising school autonomy further than has already occurred. Vocational training needs to become more attractive. In tertiary education, few Spanish universities have attained a high level of international standing, and scope remains to improve the contribution tertiary attainment can make to gains in economic welfare, notably by reforming funding arrangements.<P>Améliorer les résultats de l’enseignement en Espagne<BR>En l’espace de trente ans, les effectifs des services d’éducation préscolaire et de l’enseignement supérieur ont progressé de manière spectaculaire. Pourtant, la proportion de jeunes peu qualifiés qui entrent sur le marché du travail est particulièrement élevée pour un pays à haut revenu, ce qui s’explique notamment par de forts taux d’abandon dans le premier cycle du secondaire, avec, en corollaire, l’un des taux de redoublement les plus élevés de la zone OCDE. L’offre de travailleurs possédant une formation professionnelle de niveau intermédiaire est singulièrement faible, malgré les grands avantages que ces qualifications procurent en termes de débouchés sur le marché du travail, encore que la situation dans ce domaine se soit récemment dégradée. Des possibilités s’offrent jusqu’à la fin de la scolarité obligatoire pour améliorer les résultats de l’enseignement, comme en témoigne l’étude du Programme international pour le suivi des acquis des élèves (PISA), même si la faible variance de ces résultats fait que la proportion des élèves faibles n’est pas particulièrement élevée. Des réformes importantes ont été entreprises pour résoudre ces problèmes, mais d’autres mesures sont nécessaires pour diminuer les redoublements et améliorer les résultats de l’enseignement. Il faut pour cela renforcer la responsabilité des établissements scolaires et de leur personnel, et développer leur autonomie. Par ailleurs, la formation professionnelle doit être rendue plus intéressante. S’agissant de l’enseignement supérieur, peu d’universités espagnoles ont acquis une réputation internationale, et il est possible de renforcer les avantages économiques résultant des formations supérieures, notamment en réformant les mécanismes de financement. |
| Keywords: | education, éducation, tertiary education, éducation tertiaire, Spain, Espagne, vocational training, formation professionnelle, secondary education, pre-school education, éducation secondaire, éducation préscolaire, primary education, éducation primaire, Rates of return to educational investment, university education, éducation universitaire, taux de rendement de l’éducation |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2009–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:666-en&r=lab |
| By: | Lutz Schneider; Alexander Kubis |
| Abstract: | The article analyses the question whether women and men differ in their tastes for location factors. The question is answered by quantifying the impact of location characteristics on interregional migration flows across Germany. The analysis is based on a grouped conditional logit approach. We augment the framework by controlling for violation of the independence of irrelevant alternatives assumption and for overdispersion. As a result, we find no differences in terms of direction of impact. However, the regressions confirm gender differences in terms of intensity, particularly regarding regional wage levels and the availability of educational institutions. |
| Keywords: | Labour Mobility; Gender Economics; Regional Migration; Discrete Choice Model |
| JEL: | C25 J61 J16 R23 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:5-09&r=lab |
| By: | Belton Fleisher (Department of Economics, Ohio State University); Xiaojun Wang (Department of Economics, University of Hawaii at Manoa); Haizheng Li (School of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology); Shi Li (School of Economics and Business, Beijing Normal University) |
| Abstract: | We apply a semi-parametric latent variable model to estimate selection and sorting effects on the evolution of private returns to schooling for college graduates during China’s reform between 1988 and 2002. We find that there were substantial sorting gains under the traditional system, but they have decreased drastically and are negligible in the most recent data. We take this as evidence of growing influence of private financial constraints on decisions to attend college as tuition costs have risen and the relative importance of government subsidies has declined. The main policy implication of our results is that labor and education reform without concomitant capital market reform and government support for the financially disadvantaged exacerbates increases in inequality inherent in elimination of the traditional "wage-grid." |
| Keywords: | Return to schooling, selection bias, sorting gains, heterogeneity, financial constraints, comparative advantage, China |
| JEL: | J31 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osu:osuewp:09-02&r=lab |
| By: | Rupayan Pal (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research) |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses the impact of the reach of communist parties, the degree of political activism, personal attributes of workers, and industrial characteristics on the individual decision to unionise for Indian non-agricultural regular workers using micro data from the 2004-05 Employment and Unemployment Survey, NSSO, linked to state-level factors. A notable result is that the reach of communist parties has considerable effect on unionisation probability. Moreover, it seems that mere existence of communist parties in a state also facilitates unionisation to some extent. State-level political activism and unemployment rate also influence the individual decision to be unionist. The paper concludes also that worker's gender, marital status, ethnic background, employment status, experience, occupation, sector of employment, establishment size, and type of industry remain important in the determination of union membership. |
| Keywords: | Communist Party, Decision, Probability, State, Trade Union |
| JEL: | J51 P48 C25 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2008-015&r=lab |
| By: | Luis Garicano; Thomas Hubbard |
| Abstract: | Earnings inequality has increased substantially since the 1970s. Using evidence from confidential Census data on U.S. law offices on lawyers' organization and earnings, we study the extent to which the mechanism suggested by Lucas (1978) and Rosen (1982), a scale of operations effect linking spans of control and earnings inequality, is responsible increases in inequality. We first show that earnings inequality among lawyers increased substantially between 1977 and 1992, and that the distribution of partner-associate ratios across offices changed in ways consistent with the hypothesis that coordination costs fell during this period. We then propose a "hierarchical production function" in which output is the product of skill and time and estimate its parameters, applying insights from the equilibrium assignment literature. We find that coordination costs fell broadly and steadily during this period, so that hiring one's first associate leveraged a partner's skill by about 30% more in 1992 than 1977. We find also that changes in lawyers' hierarchical organization account for about 2/3 of the increase in earnings inequality among lawyers in the upper tail, but a much smaller share of the increase in inequality between lawyers in the upper tail and other lawyers. These findings indicate that new organizational efficiencies potentially explain increases in inequality, especially among individuals toward the top of the earnings distribution. |
| JEL: | J31 J44 L22 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14741&r=lab |
| By: | Mansur, Kasim; Abd. Rahim, Dayangku Aslinah; Lim, Beatrice; Mahmud, Roslinah |
| Abstract: | Malaysian women have continued to play an increasingly important role in the national development of the country including greater participation in the economy and labor market. These improvements were made possible by the increasing numbers of females having access to education. Education provides better work opportunities and thus increases the level of income of an individual. Therefore education is perceived to be an important factor in human capital formation. In Islam, every Muslim is required to acquire knowledge as much as possible. Knowledge generates wealth. Thus, Islam condemns idleness, inactivity and poverty are condemned. A Muslim should be actively involved in the pursuit of increasing their knowledge and skill to ensure that their life is not of mere subsistence. This paper will look at the perception towards the importance of education among Muslim women. A total of 189 respondents were interviewed from selected kampongs in the district of Papar, Sabah. The data collected was analyzed and reported using descriptive statistics. About 42.4 percent respondents have obtained a diploma and degree level education. From the study, it is found that 78 percent of the total respondents perceived that education is very important. A total of 47.1 percent strongly agreed that education can influence future income. Essentially, a total of 78.8 per cent agreed that higher level of education leads to a higher level of income. |
| Keywords: | Women; Education |
| JEL: | I20 J20 |
| Date: | 2009–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13430&r=lab |
| By: | Graziella Bertocchi; Marianna Brunetti; Costanza Torricelli |
| Abstract: | We study the joint impact of gender and marital status on financial decisions. First, we test the hypothesis that marriage represents - in a portfolio framework - a sort of safe asset, and that this effect is stronger for women. Controlling for a number of observable characteristics, we show that single women have a lower propensity to invest in risky assets than married females and males. Second, we show that the differential behavior of single women evolves over time, reflecting the increasing incidence of divorce and the expansion of female labor market participation. In particular, towards the end of our sample period, we observe a reduction in the gap between women with different family status, which can be attributed to the gradual erosion of the perception of marriage as a sort of safe asset. Our results therefore suggest that the differential behavior of single vs. married women is explained more accurately by the evolution of gender roles in society, rather than by exogenous and time invariant risk attitudes. Our empirical investigation is based on a dataset drawn from the 1989-2006 Bank of Italy Survey of Household Income and Wealth. |
| Keywords: | portfolio choice; marriage; divorce; labor force participation |
| JEL: | G11 E21 J12 J21 |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:depeco:0606&r=lab |
| By: | Enriqueta Camps |
| Abstract: | In this paper we present: 1. the available data on gender inequality at the macroeconomic and comparative level and 2. Gender inequality measures at the microeconomic and case study level. We see that market openness has a very significant effect on the diminution of the human capital gender gap. Globalization and market openness is a fist factor that improves the human capital endowments of women and also their economic position. But we also see that the effects of religious beliefs are more hybrids. While Catholicism has an statistically significant influence on the improvement of the human capital gender gap, Muslim and Buddhist religions have the opposite negative effect of increasing gender differences. In the second global era Catholic Latin American countries benefited from market openness in terms of the human capital gender gap, while we find the opposite impact in Buddhist and Muslim countries like China, were the position of women even worsened. |
| Keywords: | Wage inequality, gender gap, market openness, human capital |
| JEL: | J22 J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1145&r=lab |
| By: | Pamela Ortiz Arévalo (Universidad de Alicante) |
| Abstract: | This article examines the influence of sex education on sexual and reproductive behavior in Mexican women. Exposure to in-school sex education is identified and duration-hazard models are estimated to assess its effects on initiation of sexual activity and use of contraception methods, and timing of first and second pregnancies. Results consistently reveal that women exposed to sex education begin using contraception methods earlier. Most evidence indicates that exposed women initiate sexual activity earlier. Findings suggest that timing of first pregnancy is not affected and that second pregnancy is postponed. Overall, outcomes from this study support the idea that sex education contributes to promote preventive sexual health. |
| Keywords: | Sex education; female sexual health; reproductive behavior |
| JEL: | I28 J13 J15 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2009-01&r=lab |
| By: | Shintaro Yamaguchi |
| Abstract: | This paper constructs and structurally estimates a dynamic model of occupational choice where all occupations are characterized in a continuous multidimensional space of skill requirement using the data from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles and the NLSY79. This skill space approach allows the model to include hundreds of occupations at the three-digit census classification level without a large number of parameters. Thereby it provides more detailed analysis of occupations than previous papers. Parameter estimates indicate that skill demanding occupations offer higher returns to education and experience, which results in occupational sorting. They also suggest that the estimated skill prices by the OLS are severely biased due to this sorting. |
| Keywords: | Occupational choice, occupational sorting, human capital, skills, structural estimation |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd08-025&r=lab |
| By: | M. van Duijn; M. Lindeboom; P. Lundborg; M.Mastrogiacomo@cpb.nl |
| Abstract: | This study examines the expected retirement replacement rates of several cohorts of Dutch employees at the time of their planned retirement. It also imputes the actual replacement rates based on available pension records. We find that using reasonable indexation rates, the expected replacement rate is higher than the one we compute. Larger discrepancies are found for younger cohorts. We decompose the difference between the two replacement rates and find that the mismatch is related to poor institutional knowledge for the whole sample. We also show the role of assumptions on institutions and wage profiles in determining our results. |
| Keywords: | Replacement rate; expected retirement; Oaxaca decomposition |
| JEL: | J2 D84 D83 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:118&r=lab |
| By: | Kirdar, Murat G.; Dayıoğlu, Meltem; Koç, İsmet |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the impact of schooling on the timing of marriage and early fertility using the 2003 Turkish Demographic and Health Survey and duration analysis methodology. The source of exogenous variation in schooling is the extension of compulsory schooling in Turkey in 1997. The findings indicate that at age 17 –three years after the completion of compulsory schooling –, the proportion of women who are married drops from 15.2 to 10 percent and the proportion of women who have given birth falls from 6.2 to 3.5 percent as a result of the new policy. This implies that the impact of increased schooling on marriage and early fertility persists beyond the completion of compulsory schooling for an important duration. In addition, the delay in the timing of first-birth is driven from the delay in the timing of marriage. After a woman is married, schooling does not have an effect on the duration until her first-birth. |
| Keywords: | Age at marriage; Fertility; Education; Compulsory Schooling; Turkey |
| JEL: | J13 J12 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13410&r=lab |
| By: | Kahn, Lawrence M. (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | This Chapter reviews evidence on discrimination in basketball, primarily examining studies on race but with some discussion of gender as well. I focus on discrimination in pay, hiring, and retention against black NBA players and coaches and pay disparities by gender among college coaches. There was much evidence for each of these forms of discrimination against black NBA players in the 1980s. However, there appears to be less evidence of racial compensation, hiring and retention discrimination against black players in the 1990s and early 2000s than the 1980s. This apparent decline is consistent with research on customer discrimination in the NBA: in the 1980s, there was abundant evidence of fan preference for white players; however, since the 1980s, these preferences seem much weaker. There appears to be little evidence of pay, hiring or retention discrimination against black NBA coaches, and while male college basketball coaches outearn females, this gap is accounted for by differences in revenues and coaches' work histories. There is some dispute over whether these revenue differences are themselves the result of employer discrimination. |
| Keywords: | discrimination, race, gender, basketball |
| JEL: | J71 L83 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3987&r=lab |
| By: | Francisco Requena (Universitat de València); Guadalupe Serrano (Universitat de València); Joan Martín Montaner (Universitat Jaume I) |
| Abstract: | Immigrants have increased their participation in Spanish labour supply from less than 3 percent in 1996 to more than 13 percent in 2005. Using the factor proportion model of production, this paper analyses whether this labour supply shock has affected the industrial structure of Spanish regions. Our best specification suggests the need to include time varying region-specific effects to capture differences in technology and prices across regions. Our results confirm that, first, labour endowment differences across regions help to explain the pattern of industry specialisation across region. Second, immigrants and natives act as complementary factors in most industries. Third, the importance of factor endowment changes is relatively small compared to production technique changes and idiosyncratic industry changes in explaining the overall changes in industrial structure over 1996-2005, being only important in the case of Building, a sector where foreign workers represent an important share of its total labour force. |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasec:2009-01&r=lab |
| By: | Julian Messina; Chiara Strozzi; Jarkko Turunen |
| Abstract: | We study differences in the adjustment of aggregate real wages in the manufacturing sector over the business cycle across OECD countries, combining results from different data and dynamic methods. Summary measures of cyclicality show genuine cross-country heterogeneity even after controlling for the impact of data and methods. We find that more open economies and countries with stronger unions tend to have less pro-cyclical (or more counter-cyclical) wages. We also find a positive correlation between the cyclicality of real wages and employment, suggesting that policy complementarities may influence the adjustment of both quantities and prices in the labour market. |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2009-02&r=lab |
| By: | Giuseppe Moscarini; Fabien Postel-Vinay |
| Abstract: | We provide new evidence that large firms or establishments are more sensitive than small ones to business cycle conditions. Larger employers shed proportionally more jobs in recessions and create more of their new jobs late in expansions, both in gross and net terms. We employ a variety of measures of relative employment growth, employer size and classification by size, and a variety of U.S. datasets, both repeated cross-sections and job flows with employer longitudinal information, starting in the mid 1970's and now spanning four business cycles. We revisit two statistical fallacies, the Regression and Reclassification biases, and show empirically that they are quantitatively modest given our focus on relative cyclical behavior. The differential growth rate of employment between large (>1000 employees) and small (<50) firms varies by about 5% over the business cycle, and is strongly negatively correlated with the unemployment rate. This pattern occurs within, not across broad industries, regions and states, and is robust to different treatments of entry and exit. It appears to be partly driven by excess (mass) layoffs by large employers during and just after recessions, and by excess poaching by large employers late in expansions. We find the same qualitative pattern in longitudinal censuses of employers from Denmark and Brazil, and in other countries. Finally, we sketch a simple firm-ladder model of turnover that can shed light on these facts, and that we analyze in detail in companion papers. |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J23 J63 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14740&r=lab |
| By: | Brown, Sarah (University of Sheffield); McIntosh, Steven (University of Sheffield); Taylor, Karl (University of Sheffield) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore whether an intergenerational relationship exists between the reading and mathematics test scores, taken at age 7, of a cohort of individuals born in 1958 and the equivalent test scores of their offspring measured in 1991. Our results suggest that how the parent performs in reading and mathematics during their childhood is positively related to the corresponding test scores of their offspring as measured at a similar age. The results further suggest that the effect of upbringing is mainly responsible for the inter-generational relationship in literacy, while genetic effects seem more relevant with respect to numeracy. |
| Keywords: | human capital, intergenerational transfers, literacy, numeracy |
| JEL: | J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3986&r=lab |
| By: | Gerd Grözinger |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fln:wpaper:019&r=lab |
| By: | Joseph Price; Lars Lefgren; Henry Tappen |
| Abstract: | Using data from the National Basketball Association (NBA), we examine whether patterns of workplace cooperation occur disproportionately among workers of the same race. We find that, holding constant the composition of teammates on the floor, basketball players are no more likely to complete an assist to a player of the same race than a player of a different race. Our confidence interval allows us to reject even small amounts of same-race bias in passing patterns. Our findings suggest that high levels of interracial cooperation can occur in a setting where workers are operating in a highly visible setting with strong incentives to behave efficiently. |
| JEL: | J15 J71 L23 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14749&r=lab |
| By: | Oliver Budzinski (Department of Environmental and Business Economics, University of Southern Denmark, Campus Esbjerg); Jürgen-Peter Kretschmer (Economic Policy Unit, Philipps-University of Marburg) |
| Abstract: | Standard welfare analysis of horizontal mergers usually refers to two effects: the anticompetitive market power effect reduces welfare by enabling firms to charge prices above marginal costs, whereas the procompetitive efficiency effect increases welfare by reducing the costs of production (synergies). However, demand-side effects of synergies are usually neglected. We introduce them into a standard oligopoly model of horizontal merger by assuming an (empirically supported) decrease in labour demand due to merger-specific synergies and derive welfare effects. We find that efficiency benefits from horizontal mergers are substantially decreased, if involuntary unemployment exists. However, in full employment economies, demand-side effects remain negligible. Eventually, policy conclusions for merger control are discussed. |
| Keywords: | horizontal mergers, involuntary unemployment, efficiency defense, oligopoly, competition |
| JEL: | L13 L41 J01 L16 |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:200907&r=lab |
| By: | Adam Szentpeteri (Central European University, Eotvos Lorand University); Almos Telegdy (Institute of Economics - Hungarian Academy of Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Exploiting a unique institutional feature of the early Romanian privatization setup, when a group of firms was explicitly barred from any privatization, we test how politicians select firms into privatization programs. Using a comprehensive dataset that includes all firms inherited from socialism, we estimate the relation between pre-privatization firm characteristics (the information known to politicians at the time of decision making) and the effect of privatization on employment, efficiency and wages. We argue that other objectives, such as revenue maximization or bribe collection were of secondary importance in the early Romanian privatization. Using the estimated coefficients, we simulate the effect of privatization on non-privatizable and privatizable firms, including in the latter group both privatized and not privatized enterprises. The simulations show that politicians expected the reduction of employment by 5.2 percent of the non-privatizable group, as a consequence of privatization. Contrary to this expectation, employment in the privatizable group was likely to grow by the same proportion. We do not find such discrepancies in the expected change in firm efficiency, as the simulated efficiency effect of privatization is large and positive for both groups of firms, and it is around 40 percent. The analysis does not support the hypothesis that wages played an important role in privatization decisions. These results do not change qualitatively if the privatizable group is disaggregated into privatized and not privatized groups. Our study suggests that employment concerns played the key role in selecting firms for privatization, even if efficiency gains had to be sacrificed. |
| Keywords: | Privatization, Government objectives, Firm behavior, Romania |
| JEL: | L33 P26 |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:0826&r=lab |
| By: | Choe, Chongwoo; Tian, Gloria; Yin, Xiangkang |
| Abstract: | We study theoretically and empirically the relation among CEO power, CEO pay and firm performance. Our theoretical model follows the rent extraction view of CEO compensation put forward by the managerial power theory. We test our theoretical findings using the sample of S&P1500 firms. The predicted relation between power and pay is largely supported. However, the relation between power and firm performance has mixed support, suggesting that, while the managerial power theory has relevance in explaining the relation between power and pay, the scope of power needs to be broadened for better understanding of how managerial power affects firm performance. |
| Keywords: | Managerial power; agency theory; stock-based compensation; firm performance; pay-performance sensitivity. |
| JEL: | D82 G30 J33 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13449&r=lab |
| By: | Katharina Frosch (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany) |
| Abstract: | The relationship between age and creative performance has been found to follow a hump-shaped profile in the arts and sciences, and in great technological achievement. Accordingly, accelerating workforce aging raises concern about whether future capacity to innovate is endangered. This paper provides a review of existing studies exploring age effects on innovative performance, both at the individual and the macro levels. Empirical evidence confirms the hump-shaped relationship between workers’ ages and innovative performance, with the highest levels of performance seen between ages 30 and 50, depending on the domain. Industrial invention in knowledge-intensive fields, and great invention in general, seem to be a young man’s game. Yet in more experience-based fields, innovative performance peaks later, and remains stable until late in the career. Moreover, the quality of invention remains rather stable at older ages. However, individual-level evidence has to be interpreted with caution due to the presence of selectivity biases and unobserved heterogeneity. Studies at the levels of firms, regions, and countries address some of these issues. Results of these studies have indicated that young professionals drive knowledge absorption, innovation, and technological progress, whereas more experienced workers are more relevant in mature technological regimes. Apart from integrating the existing empirical evidence on different levels of aggregation, a strong focus is on methodological issues and conceptual challenges. This review therefore provides a sound basis for further studies on the impact of workforce aging on innovative performance. In addition, promising directions for future research are proposed. |
| JEL: | J1 Z0 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dem:wpaper:wp-2009-005&r=lab |
| By: | Tatsuyoshi Miyakoshi (Osaka School of International Public Policy, Osaka University); Pekka Ilmakunnas (Helsinki School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to investigate what decreases TFP, why TFP has decreased in some countries and how large the decreases of TFP are. We focus on the quality of labor and capital inputs and use cross country data for the manufacturing industries of some OECD countries. We provide a comprehensive empirical investigation based on two hypotheses, substitutability and complementarity of labor input age and skill categories. Further, we provide an aging index, which tells how much the share of ICT capital should be increased to counterbalance decreases of TFP caused by the aging of the labor input. |
| Keywords: | TFP; quality of labor and capital, substitutability and complementarity of age and skill groups, aging index |
| JEL: | O11 J00 J80 O40 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osk:wpaper:0903&r=lab |
| By: | De Vos, A.; Dewilde, T.; De Clippeleer, I. (Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School) |
| Abstract: | The current article tests a model of proactive career behaviors and career success with two samples of graduates making the transition from school to work. Using structural equation modeling, we tested a theoretical model that specified the relationships among career goal, career planning, career self-management behaviors, and career success. A longitudinal panel study was conducted within two samples using a one-year (sample 1) and three-year (sample 2) time lag between the first and second data collection. The results support the process model and suggest that at graduation career planning is affected by the importance attached to career progress. In turn, career planning is positively associated with career self-management behaviors. Both career planning and career self-management behaviors at graduation are positively related to career planning and career self-management behaviors one year later (sample 1) but in sample two, in which a three-year time lag was used, these relationships were no longer significant. Support is found for the relationship between career self-management behaviors during early career and career satisfaction and salary. The findings are discussed in terms of their general implications for understanding the proactive career behavior process through which graduates affect their career success during the first years of their professional career. |
| Keywords: | proactive career behavior, career planning, career self-management, career success |
| Date: | 2009–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vlg:vlgwps:2009-05&r=lab |
| By: | Andras Simonovits (Institute of Economics - Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Department of Economics - CEU, Mathematical Institute - Budapest University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | When and how to subsidize tax-favored pension accounts? To defend myopic workers against themselves, the government introduces a mandatory system but to help savers, it adds taxfavored retirement accounts. If the mandatory system is progressive, then a proportional voluntary system can beneficially dampen the redistribution. If the mandatory system is proportional, then a progressive voluntary system may raise the old-age consumption of the lower-paid. But if both the mandatory and the voluntary systems are proportional and the ceiling is high (as is the case in Hungary), then the latter does not diminish the tension of the mandatory system. |
| Keywords: | mandatory pensions, tax-favored retirement accounts, voluntary contributions, subsidies |
| JEL: | H55 D91 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:discpr:0902&r=lab |
| By: | Mansur, Kasim; Kasim, Mohd. Yusof; Ahmad, Abd. Razak |
| Abstract: | As strategic education agenda works to prepare competent graduates, human resource development has become crucial for uplifting the internal strength of the university. University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) relatively a ‘young’ university has been engaged in establishing learning interaction among its staffs towards excellence. This paradigm is paramount to the strategic human resource provider as it allows not only the students who will be graduating but the young faculty members and its administrative staffs to excel. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the keys to successful university undertaken by UMS. In less than ten years, the faculty members as well as the administrative staffs manage to position the university at par to that of other established higher learning institutions in the nation. With the establishment of learning interaction, human resource development of UMS have shown some impact for promoting educational excellence among Malaysians. Indeed competent human resource plays an important role to meet the vision and the mission of UMS- strive to excel. |
| Keywords: | Human Resource Development; Higher Education |
| JEL: | I20 O15 |
| Date: | 2009–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13431&r=lab |
| By: | Campolieti , Michele; Gomez, Rafael; Gunderson, Morley |
| Abstract: | We study the propensity of disabled persons to engage in volunteer activity with the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) -- a unique Canadian dataset which provides extensive information on disabled persons as well as volunteering behaviour. Our principal focus is on the effects of various income support programs on disabled person’s participation in volunteer activities. We find that certain income support programs (e.g., workers’ compensation) are associated with decreases in the probability of volunteering while others (e.g., Pension Plans) are associated with increases in the propensity to volunteer. The reason is that not all income support programs are identical with respect to their implications for unpaid work. There are some – like workers compensation – that embody strong disincentives to volunteering while others like public Pensions that explicitly encourage unpaid work. Our conclusion is that program characteristics can significantly affect volunteering. This conclusion is further supported when we look at other income support programs that embody ambiguous or no incentive effects. As one would anticipate, these ‘incentive neutral’ programs have no significant impact on volunteering. The relevance of these results to both theories of volunteerism and public policy is discussed. |
| Keywords: | Disability, Income Support Programs, Incentive Effects, Volunteer Activity |
| JEL: | J14 J48 |
| Date: | 2009–02–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2009-16&r=lab |
| By: | Alon Cohen; Assaf Razin; Efraim Sadka |
| Abstract: | Skilled migrants typically contribute to the welfare state more than they draw in benefits from it. The opposite holds for unskilled migrants. This suggests that a host country is likely to boost (respectively, curtail) its welfare system when absorbing high-skill (respectively, low-skill) migration. In this paper we first examine this hypothesis in a politico-economic setup. We then confront the prediction of the theory with evidence. In doing so, we reckon with an endogeneity problem that arise because the skill composition of migration is itself affected by the generosity of the welfare state. |
| JEL: | F22 H55 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14738&r=lab |
| By: | Stephan Litschig |
| Abstract: | Whether providing additional resources to local communities leads to improved public services and better outcomes more generally, given existing management capacity and incentive and accountability structures, is an unresolved yet important question for public policy. This paper uses a regression-discontinuity design to evaluate the effect of unrestricted fiscal transfers on local spending (including on education), schooling and learning in Brazil. Results show that transfers increase local public spending almost one for one with no evidence of crowding out own revenue or other revenue sources. Extra per capita transfers of 1000 Reais lead to about 0.42 additional years of elementary schooling and student literacy rates increase by about 5.6 percentage points on average. Part of this effect arises through higher teacher-student ratios in municipal elementary school systems. Results also suggest that additional resources have stronger effects in more rural and less developed parts of Brazil. |
| Keywords: | Intergovernmental grants, school finance, foreign aid effectiveness |
| JEL: | H7 I2 O15 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1142&r=lab |
| By: | Thang, N.; Buyens, D. (Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School) |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews theory and empirical findings on the relationship between training and firm performance. We describe the various important theoretical approaches and proposed a framework for analyzing training and firm performance issues. Data from previous studies is used to assess the effects of training on firm performance. The research results show that training has a positive and significant impact on firm performance. Finally, we identify the limitations of these previous studies and directions for future research on this topic. |
| Keywords: | Training; Human resource outcomes; Firm performance |
| Date: | 2008–12–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vlg:vlgwps:2009-01&r=lab |
| By: | Néstor Duch (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Javier García (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB); Martí Parellada (Universitat de Barcelona & IEB) |
| Abstract: | In recent decades the contribution made by higher education institutions to regional development has attracted increasing attention. Considering the university as an economic agent with its own budget and expenditure, then the activities it engages in, as well as those of the groups from which it is comprised (students, professors and staff), will have an impact that is transmitted to the rest of the economy through its inter-sectoral relations. On this premise, the multiplier effects within the economy are analyzed, specifically at the level of income and employment. This study analyses the economic impact of the Spanish public university system, it examines the stability of the impact and seeks to account for the changes that occurred between 1998 and 2004. The method adopted is based on the use of input-output tables. The Gross Added Value (GAV) and employment generated by the Spanish public university system as shares of Spain’s total GAV and employment presented an average annual growth rate of 4.7% and 3.8% respectively. |
| Keywords: | Regional development, universities, higher education, economic impact. |
| JEL: | R15 I23 O18 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2009/2/doc2008-9&r=lab |
| By: | Marcelo, Fukushima |
| Abstract: | This paper builds a two-country-two-sector trade model with a monopolistically competitive sector and non-homothetic preferences. It assumes the existence of two types of goods: necessities (which are homogeneous) and luxuries (which are differentiated) and heterogeneous labor. The implications of income inequality on trade patterns are examined. It also considers the effects of redistributive policies on the production structure and welfare of countries and concludes that: First, in autarky, the more unequal country produces a larger number of varieties; Second, the opening to trade will unambiguously increase the number of varieties consumed by any country, and hence, welfare; Third, the more equal country benefits more from trade liberalization. Fourth, a redistributive policy may harm some consumers not only by diminishing disposable income, but also by diminishing the number of varieties produced. |
| Keywords: | Income inequality; monopolistic competition; non-homothetic preferences; labor heterogeneity |
| JEL: | D11 F12 |
| Date: | 2008–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:13385&r=lab |
| By: | Marie-Louise Vierø (Queen's University) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops an equilibrium sorting model with utility maximizing researchers who differ in their ability on one side of the market, and research output-maximizing universities and an outside sector on the other side. In equilibrium, the top of the ability distribution is allocated to the academic sector, while the bottom of the ability distribution is allocated to the outside sector. For low values of the outside option, the academic sector is unaffected by it and some researchers exit from academia involuntarily. For higher values of the outside option, an increase in the value decreases the difference in average quality between the higher and lower ranked universities. The paper also consider the universities' problems of allocating resources across fields. The better university will typically be active in both fields while the lower ranked university will often specialize. The latter result can explain why a highly ranked university for example typically will have both a department of theoretical physics and a department of applied physics, while a lower ranked university typically focuses on the more applied field. |
| Keywords: | Sorting, Universities, Academia, Optimizing Institutions, Ranking |
| JEL: | C78 D02 |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:wpaper:1198&r=lab |
| By: | Manuela Arcanjo |
| Abstract: | In the extensive literature that has been dedicated during the past fifteen years to the analysis of the reform of the welfare states, a significant number of studies have focused on the characterisation of the nature and direction of the changes in the main social programmes. This article seeks to contribute to this debate by analysing the reform of unemployment insurance schemes between 1993 and 2007 in France, Germany, Portugal and Spain, as representative of the conservative regime. A comparative analysis is carried out by examining the major legislative amendments concerning eligibility criteria and entitlement conditions, as they are expressed by legislation in the four countries. The findings of the study indicate that the four countries have adopted different instruments at different moments in time, while no significant differences were detected between them, and that the legislative changes introduced in the four insurance schemes may be seen to constitute a real erosion of social rights. |
| Keywords: | Welfare state reform; Retrenchment; Unemployment insurance schemes; Social rights. |
| Date: | 2009–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:isegwp:wp42009&r=lab |
| By: | Joan Gil; Toni Mora |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a combination of the 2006 Catalan Health and Health & Examination Surveys to compute the size of weight and height self-reporting biases. The underlying determinants of these self-reporting biases are also analysed, placing special emphasis on examining the role played by social norms. Our findings show that social norms have a dual impact on these self-reporting biases: the higher the distance between individuals’ measured weight (height) and that of their average reference group, the higher (lower) the weight (height) bias or more (less) inclined they are to misreport their weight (height). This evidence confirms the influence of group-specific factors or social norms on self-reports of attributes. Finally, the relationship found between the measured and self-reported anthropometric data in our merged database was applied to the Spanish National Health Survey (NHS) to correct its self-reported information. Interestingly, after correcting for self-reporting errors, both the BMI and the prevalence of obesity were significantly underestimated; the increase was higher among women. |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2009-01&r=lab |
| By: | Juan A. Lacomba (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.); Francisco M. Lagos (Department of Economic Theory and Economic History, University of Granada.) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze the effects of changing Social Security parameters on the optimal legal retirement age. Two Social Security Systems are studied, with opposite results. When the pension scheme has a defined contribution, a more redistributive system will delay the preferred legal retirement age. On the other hand, when the pension benefit is the defined parameter, the increase in the redistribution level will lower this preferred age. |
| JEL: | H55 J26 |
| Date: | 2008–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gra:wpaper:08/13&r=lab |
| By: | Mitchell William; Muysken Joan (METEOR) |
| Abstract: | This paper briefly analyses the shifts in economic theory that have moved policy makers from unambiguously pursuing full employment, to the current state where full employability is justified as being optimal. We also explore how these theoretical developments translated in practice, culminating in the 1994 OECD Jobs Study which eschewed a role for macroeconomic policy in reducing unemployment. The final sections of the paper outline an alternative view of macroeconomic theory and policy opportunities. We argue that a central plank in modern macroeconomic policy settings should be the introduction of employment guarantees, which we term the Job Guarantee (JG). |
| Keywords: | Economics (Jel: A) |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umamet:2009006&r=lab |
| By: | Marc van der Steeg; Roel van Elk; Dinand Webbink |
| Abstract: | Early school-leaving is considered to be one of the major problems in Dutch education. In order to reduce the number of dropouts in the school year 2006-2007 the Dutch government has offered a financial incentive scheme to 14 out of 39 regions. This scheme provides a reward of 2000 euro per school dropout less in 2006-07. The target of the scheme was a reduction of the total number of school dropouts by at least 10 percent in one year. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of this school dropout policy by comparing the change in school dropout in these 14 regions with the change in the remaining 25 regions before and after the introduction of the policy. We observe a modest decline in the probability of dropping out in the 14 covenants regions. However, the decline in the non-covenant regions was equally large. We therefore find no significant effect on the probability of dropping out in the post-covenant year. In both regions, the number of dropouts has fallen by 3 percent in the year after the covenants. This nationwide decline can be largely assigned to changes in the student populations among the preand post-covenant year. <br> The covenants also gave a reward to regions for a successful reintegration of dropouts in order to reduce school dropout in that way. However, estimates for the effect on the re-enrolment of previous dropouts are statistically insignificant as well. We conclude that 2006 covenant policy has not been effective in reducing early school-leaving. |
| Keywords: | school dropout; financial incentives; policy evaluation |
| Date: | 2008–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:docmnt:177&r=lab |
| By: | Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti; Santos, Marcelo; Pessoa, Samuel |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of HIV/AIDS on per capita income and education. It ex- plores two channels from HIV/AIDS to income that have not been sufficiently stressed by the literature: the reduction of the incentives to study due to shorter expected longevity and the reduction of productivity of experienced workers. In the model individuals live for three periods, may get infected in the second period and with some probability die of Aids before reaching the third period of their life. Parents care for the welfare of the future generations so that they will maximize lifetime utility of their dynasty. The simulations predict that the most affected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa will be in the future, on average, thirty percent poorer than they would be without AIDS. Schooling will decline in some cases by forty percent. These gures are dramatically reduced with widespread medical treatment, as it increases the survival probability and productivity of infected individuals. |
| Date: | 2009–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fgv:epgewp:690&r=lab |
| By: | Guy Laroque ; Bernard Salanié (Crest) |
| Keywords: | optimal matching |
| Date: | 2008–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crs:wpaper:2008-10&r=lab |
| By: | Jin Feng; Lixin He; Hiroshi Sato |
| Abstract: | We relate household saving to pension reform, to explain the high household saving rates in urban China from a new perspective. We use the exogenous-policy induced-variation in pension wealth to explicitly estimate the impact of pension wealth on household saving, and obtain a significant offset effect of pension wealth on household saving. Our estimations show that pension reform boosted the household saving rate in 1999 by about 6 percentage points for cohort aged 25-29 and by about 3 percentage points for cohort aged 50-59. Our results also indicate that declining pension wealth reduces expenditure on education and health more than on other consumption items. |
| Keywords: | pension reform, pension wealth, household saving rate, urban China |
| JEL: | E21 H55 P43 |
| Date: | 2009–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hst:ghsdps:gd08-030&r=lab |
| By: | Alexis Direr; Muriel Roger |
| Abstract: | Un produit d'épargne retraite universel a été lancé en France en 2003, le Plan d'Epargne Retraite Populaire (PERP), dont l'objectif est de permettre aux ménages de compléter leur futur retraite. A l'aide de données issues d'une large enquête réalisée par TNS SOFRES en 2007 dont un volet porte sur les ménages détenteurs d'un PERP, nous montrons que ce produit s'est diffusé dans l'ensemble des couches sociales et touche en proportion aussi bien les cadres et professions libérales que les ouvriers ou les employés. L'âge des détenteurs suit approximativement une courbe en U avec une participation relativement plus importante des 25-34 ans et des 50-54 ans. Nous appliquons dans un second temps la méthode des résidus simulés pour obtenir des distributions de capital et de versements à partir des données en tranche fournies par l'enquête. Cela nous permet d'estimer le montant accumulé par les ménages de l'échantillon au moment de la liquidation de leur plan et d'évaluer ainsi quel supplément de ressources ces derniers sont susceptibles d'obtenir pendant la retraite en proportion du dernier revenu d'activité. Les résultats des simulations indiquent que la plupart des souscripteurs bénéficieront d'un revenu d'appoint inférieur à 1% de leur dernier revenu d'activité.###[english abstract: The French law called "Fillon Act", enacted on August 21st 2003, has created an individual saving contract called "PERP" (Plan d'Epargne Retraite) which objective is to supplement public pensions. It is a defined contribution scheme whith payments deductible from taxable income (up to 10% of the annual revenue). At retirement, benefits are paid in the form of annuities and taxed at a normal rate. We use a large dataset on saving behaviour of 9880 households in order to ascertain the profile by age, socio-economic status, levels of income, levels of wealth, and fiscal status of holders of at least one PERP. We show that this saving product has spread evenly in all socio-economic status and that the participation rate is most important for households whose head is 25-34 year old or 50-54 year old. We use simulated residuals to simulate continuous distribution of the PERP wealth and contributions, using bracket information available in our dataset. This allows us to project the future growth of assets in personal retirement plans until age 60 and to estimate the level of annuity that households will obtain after retirement. We find that most households are likely to benefit from a very small annuity, which is less than 1% of their last earning before the conversion of their plan.]### |
| Date: | 2009 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pse:psecon:2009-05&r=lab |
| By: | Antoni Cunyat (Universitat de València); Randolph Sloof (CERGE-EI) |
| Abstract: | When managers are sufficiently guided by social preferences, incentive provision through an organizational mode based on informal implicit contracts may provide a cost-effective alternative to a more formal mode based on explicit contracts and monitoring. This paper reports the results from a laboratory experiment designed to test whether organizations make full effective use of the available preference types within their work force when drafting their organizational design. Our main finding is that they do not do so; although the importance of social preferences is recognized by those choosing the organizational mode, the significant impact managers' preferences have on the behavior of workers in the organization seems to be overlooked. Keywords:employee, organizational design, social preferences. Cuando los managers poseen unas preferencias sociales lo suficientemente importantes, los incentivos generados en organizaciones basadas en contratos informales implícitos pueden ser una alternativa menos costosa que la basada en contratos formales explícitos y supervisión. En este trabajo presentamos los resultados de un experimento en el laboratorio diseñado para examinar si las organizaciones hacen un uso completamente efectivo de los diferentes tipos de preferencias presentes en su fuerza de trabajo a la hora de diseñar una organización Nuestro principal resultado es que éste uso no es completo; aunque los responsables de diseñar los modos organizativos reconocen la importancia de las preferencias sociales, el impacto significativo que las preferencias de los managers tienen sobre el comportamiento de los trabajadores es aparentemente es ignorado |
| Keywords: | empleado, diseño organizativo, preferencias sociales. employee, organizational design, social preferences. |
| JEL: | C91 J40 M50 |
| Date: | 2009–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2009-04&r=lab |
| By: | Suncica Vujic; Pierre Koning; Dinand Webbink; Nick Martin |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the longer-term effects of childhood conduct disorder on human capital accumulation and violent and criminal behaviour later in life using data of Australian twins. We measure conduct disorder with a rich set of indicators based on diagnostic criteria from psychiatry (e.g., aggression to people and animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness or theft, and/or serious violations of rules). Using ordinary least squares (OLS) and twin fixed effects (FE) estimation approaches, we find that early (pre-18) conduct disorder problems significantly affect both human capital accumulation and violent and criminal behaviour over the life course. For instance, within pairs of identical twins we find that conduct disorder reduces the probability of high school graduation with 4 to 13 percent points and increases the probability of being arrested with 7 to 16 percent points. Robustness checks suggest that these estimates may be lower bounds of the true effects of conduct disorder. In addition, we find that conduct disorder is more deleterious if these behaviours occur earlier in life. We conclude that childhood mental health problems have high human and financial costs for families and society at large. Effective treatments early in life might yield high returns. |
| Keywords: | conduct disorder; human capital; twins |
| JEL: | I2 K42 |
| Date: | 2008–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:113&r=lab |