State Dependence,Accommodations, and the Postinjury Employment of Disabled Workers

This paper examines the postinjury employment patterns of disabled workers from Ontario, Canada by estimating a dynamic probit model with unobserved effects. The estimates indicate that there is some state dependence in the conditional probability of leaving employment for health reasons and that an employer accommodation can reduce the conditional probability of leaving employment for health reasons by 33 percent. Moreover, a supplementary cross‐sectional analysis confirms that accommodations can reduce the probability of leaving employment.     

Tipped Wage Effects on Earnings and Employment in Full‐Service Restaurants

We exploit more than 20 years of changes in state‐level tipped wage policy and estimate earnings and employment effects of the tipped wage using county‐level panel data on full‐service restaurants (FSR). We extend earlier work by Dube, Lester, and Reich ( 2010 ) and compare outcomes between contiguous counties that straddle a state border. We find a 10‐percent increase in the tipped wage increases earnings in FSRs about 0.4 percent. Employment elasticities are sensitive to the inclusion of controls for unobserved spatial heterogeneity. In our preferred models, we find small, insignificant effects of the tipped wage on FSR employment.     

The Productivity Effects of Participatory Employment Practices: Evidence from New Japanese Panel Data

We report the first results for Japanese firms on the effects of clusters of participatory employment practices (or participation/employee involvement at the top level as well as at the grassroots level, and financial participation) by estimating production functions using new panel data. We find that the introduction of a group of complementary practices will lead to a significant 8–9 percent increase in productivity. However, the full productivity effect is felt only after a long developmental period.     

Problems of Fit: Changing Employment and Labour Regulation

This paper indicates key issues in identifying and assessing change in the employment relationship. It explores various challenges that the changing shape of employment poses for both legal regulation and regulation provided through collective bargaining. It suggests different rationales for seeking a better fit and discusses various adjustments and changes to achieve this. Finally, I argue that problems of fit (misfit), and the need for adaptation to which this gives rise, are relevant also to the study of industrial relations.     

Toward Explaining the Growth of Defined Contribution Plans

Since 1980, defined benefit plans have steadily lost market share to defined contribution plans. In 1979, defined contribution plans had 17 percent of the primary pension market. By 1988, it was 34 percent. About half of the shift is attributable to a loss of employment in large unionized firms where defined benefit plans are used intensively. But evidence of large changes in preferences is also found in the data. One likely explanation is the introduction of a new variety of defined contribution plans, so-called 401(k)s. These pension plans have productivity traits that make them more effective competition for defined benefit plans.     

R&D employment effects of financial slack generated by R&D tax exemption: The importance of firm-level contingencies

This paper focuses on R&D employment effects due to financial slack generated by an R&D tax exemption scheme in Belgium. The tax exemption is granted without firm-level requirements, which facilitates testing firm-level contingencies on the influence of the generated financial slack. We find that R&D employment effects increase with the level of the R&D tax exemption related to financial slack resources and that this positive relation is more outspoken for older firms and for firms with an intermediate share of R&D tax exemptions in the overall mix of R&D policy support. No effects are found for firm size and its R&D intensity. These findings suggest targeting the R&D tax exemption support according to firm characteristics to obtain longer term R&D employment effects. The focus on R&D employment adds to the literature on the evaluation of R&D policies which is largely oriented toward R&D expenditure and innovation outputs.     

The Implications of the Value Chain and Financial Institutions for Work and Employment: Insights from the Video Game Industry in Poland,Sweden and Germany

What are the reasons for national differences of international market access in high‐risk software development and what is the role of employment regulation? This analysis elucidates this question based on national sector studies of the video games industry with particular focus on financial systems, skill formation as well as work and employment systems in Sweden, Germany and Poland. National financial architectures and education are a decisive factor. However, the results also suggest that the ‘varieties‐of‐capitalism’ (VoC) approach underestimates industry divergence within and across supposedly homogeneous national models, especially in the field of labour regulation. The author proposes to link VoC theory to a transnational perspective, which complementarily takes into account firm embeddedness in industry‐specific value chains.     

Human Resource Management in the Japanese Financial Institution Abroad: The Case of the London Office

The evidence on human resource management in overseas offices of Japanese multinational service-sector firms is far less abundant than that for manufacturing firms. Existing studies describe employment practices that vary, both between firms and over time. To supplement the existing body of evidence, the present study investigates employment practices at two Japanese financial services firms in the City of London through the use of interviews and questionnaire surveys. It focuses on those facets of the ‘Japanese’ management system that may be considered fundamental characteristics: recruitment and selection procedures, training methods, pay and promotion policies, employment security, company culture, and the position of workers within the overall organization. The study considers the implications of changes over time within the two firms when viewed in the context of the existing evidence; such comparison suggests that both corporate strategy and human resource management policy in Japanese financial organizations may have changed during the 1980s.     

A comparative analysis of layoff announcements and stock price reactions in the United States and Japan

Downsizing and layoffs are an important mechanism for U.S. firms to cope with their strategic and economic environment. In contrast, the Japanese tradition of lifetime employment limits the ability of firms to employ layoffs as a strategic measure, relegating its use to conditions of financial distress. This paper provides the first comparison of layoffs in Japan and the United States and examines stock price reactions to layoff announcements in each country from 1990 to 1994. Agency theory and Aoki's cooperative game theory are employed to discuss differences in the governance structures of U.S. and Japanese firms and their implication for stock price reactions. Results show that layoff announcements trigger negative returns for both U.S. and Japanese firms. Specifically, layoff announcements of U.S. firms are associated with a negative 1.78 percent abnormal return, while layoff announcements for Japanese firms are associated with a negative 0.56 percent abnormal return. To better understand the impact of layoffs, this study examines the relationships between stock price reactions and various layoff characteristics (such as whether the layoff is proactive or reactive or whether the layoff is the first in the industry). Implications of the findings are discussed. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Who’s Displaced First? The Role of Race in Layoff Decisions

We test empirically the proposition that race significantly affects an employee's layoff chances. Using data from a financial firm (N = 8918), we find that whites are less likely to be laid off than nonwhites and that, among nonwhites, Asians are less likely to be laid off than blacks or Hispanics. These findings are statistically significant after controlling for structural factors (business unit, occupation, and job level) and individual characteristics (tenure and performance rating). A similar pattern of racial differences exists in other employment practices more actively monitored by the firm, including promotions, pay raises, and performance ratings. Yet these differences are smaller than those in layoffs and are significant for blacks only, not for Hispanics. Our findings suggest that monitoring personnel decisions can reduce racial inequality. Furthermore, our findings highlight that racial differences in employment outcomes vary among minority groups.     

High rural population density Africa – What are the growth requirements and who participates?

A large and increasing proportion of agricultural growth in Africa must come from continuous gains in land productivity in areas of high population density and hence with already relatively high yields. What that requires is analogous to the green revolution in Asia. Several features differentiate the African situation. Those include greater diversity in cropping pattern including a historically larger and more widespread tropical commodity export sector. The physical infrastructure in rural Africa is far inferior to that of most Asian countries. While the greater diversity of agriculture calls for a larger and more diverse institutional structure the reality is that the research systems, the ancillary education systems to spread innovation and the rural financial systems are generally greatly inferior to those of Asia at the beginning of the green revolution. Ethiopia’s record of a steady six to seven percent growth for agriculture and nearly halving of rural poverty demonstrates that with the right policies and investments a very poor country starting with poor physical and institutional infrastructure can bring a major contribution from agriculture growth to increased GDP and reduced poverty. As in Asia, the bulk of accelerated agricultural growth will come from small commercial farmers. They have sufficient farm income to reach or exceed the poverty level. Those are farms with, depending on the country, as little as 0.75 hectares to a few tens of hectares of land. They comprise up to half the rural population and produce on the order of 70–80 percent of agricultural output. They are in general not poor. The poor have inadequate land to reach the poverty level, initially with much underemployment, and with substantial non-farm employment. The primary driver of poverty reduction is the small commercial farmer spending on the order of half of increased income on nontradable, employment intensive goods and services from the rural non-farm sector.     

Firm litigation risk and the insurance value of corporate social performance

This paper advances the risk management perspective that superior social performance enhances firm value by serving as an ex ante valuable insurance mechanism. We posit that good social performance is more valuable as an insurance mechanism for firms with higher litigation risks. Moreover, value generation of corporate social performance (CSP) depends on whether a firm has gained pragmatic legitimacy (i.e., a firm's financial health) and moral legitimacy (i.e., whether or not a firm operates in a socially contested industry) among its stakeholders. We find that the value of CSP as insurance against litigation risk is practically significant, adding 2 to 4 percent to firm value. But CSP is less likely to create value if the firm is in financial distress or is operating in socially contested industries. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Who Is at Risk of Losing and Gaining Health Insurance?

In this study, we examine annual transitions into and out of health insurance coverage using matched data from the 1996 to 2004 Current Population Survey (CPS). We find evidence of several characteristics that are strongly associated with the likelihood of losing or gaining health insurance including race, education, unemployment, part‐time employment status, employment size, and self‐employment.     

政府财政审计“大格局”若干问题研究

由于公共财政体制改革对财政审计提出了新的要求和任务,我国审计机关积极适应形势,认真分析研究财政改革的内容,及时转变思维方式,调整财政审计的发展方向,着力构建财政审计大格局,并最终要实现审计工作的＂四个转变＂。文章主要探讨审计大格局形成过程中应注意的问题及建议采取的方法。     

外部关税变动对中国区域劳动力就业的影响

本文利用UNCTAD数据和中国人口普查微观数据,基于地区就业的行业结构和贸易对象国对中国征收的行业层面的进口关税,构建地区层面外部关税变动指标,研究外部关税变动对中国区域劳动力就业的影响。研究发现:(1)外部关税下降幅度越高的地区,总体就业、可贸易部门和不可贸易部门的就业增加也越多;(2)出口和内销规模扩张的就业创造效应、生产率提升的就业破坏效应,是外部关税下降影响地区可贸易部门就业的重要渠道;(3)外部关税下降带来的地区可贸易部门出口扩张、就业增加和工资上涨,通过产业关联和消费驱动等正向溢出效应增加地区不可贸易部门就业,通过就业的部门间再配置效应减少地区不可贸易部门就业;(4)外部关税下降对地区不可贸易部门就业的影响呈现出先抑制后促进的动态演进过程,这与外部关税变动下中国区域劳动力供给的调整紧密相关。此外,外部关税变动对地区不同属性劳动力就业的影响效果存在显著差异。本文的研究结论对于外部关税变动下稳定区域劳动力就业的相关政策制定具有一定的参考意义。     

Postgraduate Education and Labor Market Outcomes: An Empirical Analysis Using Micro Data from Japan

Using a large micro dataset from Japan, this paper provides evidence on the relationship between postgraduate education and labor‐market outcomes. According to the analysis, the key findings include: (1) The employment‐to‐population rates of females and elderly people with postgraduate educations are higher than those with undergraduate educations. (2) The postgraduate wage premium relative to undergraduates is approximately 30–40 percent, which is similar in magnitude for male and female workers. (3) The wage reduction after age 60 is less for workers with a postgraduate education. (4) The private rate of return to postgraduate education exceeds 10 percent.     

Who cooks the books in China,and does it pay? Evidence from private,high‐technology firms

Research summary: We document the extent of fraudulent reporting among 467 private Chinese technology companies. Comparing the financial statements concurrently submitted to two different state agencies, we demonstrate a systematic gap in reported profit figures in the two sets of books. We find: (1) more than half the sampled companies report incentive‐compatible, materially discrepant profit numbers to the two agencies; (2) politically connected companies are approximately 18 percent more likely to commit fraud and those with venture capital backing are 19 percent more likely to do so; and (3) it pays to cheat. We estimate that companies who “cook” their books have considerably higher odds of receiving an innovation grant. Especially given its prevalence, we conclude that fraud can be a source of performance differential for emerging market companies. Managerial summary: We document that more than half of a sample of 467 private, Chinese technology companies engage in fraudulent financial reporting. By comparing the financial statements companies concurrently submitted to two different state agencies, we demonstrate a systematic gap in reported profit figures in the two sets of books. Relative to the companies without these attributes, we find that politically connected companies are approximately 18 percent more likely to commit fraud and those with venture capital backing are 19 percent more likely to do so. Furthermore, we show that it pays to cheat. We estimate that companies who “cook” their books have considerably higher odds of receiving a government‐sponsored innovation grant. Therefore, fraud can be a source of performance differential for emerging market companies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Living Wage Policies at the San Francisco Airport: Impacts on Workers and Businesses

This paper evaluates the costs, benefits and related impacts of living wage policies implemented at the San Francisco Airport (SFO). Unlike other living wage ordinances, the policies at SFO cover a large proportion of the low-wage labor force in a distinct labor market. The authors find that about 73 percent of the ground-based non-managerial workers at SFO received substantial wage increases as a direct or indirect result of the policies; the proportion of these workers earning under $10 per hour fell from 55 percent to 5 percent, significantly reducing earnings inequality. Other benefits to workers included enhanced health benefits and an arrest of declines in quality of life indices. The costs of the policies to employers amounted to an average of 0.7 percent of fare revenue, or $1.42 per airline passenger. We observe a series of dynamic adjustments that reduced those costs, including dramatically reduced turnover, improved worker morale and greater work effort. We find some limited evidence of worker-worker substitution, but no evidence of employment decline.     

Towards a New Standard Employment Relationship in Western Europe

This paper examines critically the concept of the standard employment relationship (SER), differentiating between form and substance. It explores the social functions served by the SER and its evolution in western Europe. Six major causes underpinning changes in the employment relationship are explored and the contours of a new more flexible SER developed. Two further social functions are added: equal access for men and women to the employment system, and increased internal flexibility in the workplace.