Offshore Outsourcing and Non‐production Workers: Firm‐level Relationships Disaggregated by Skills and Suppliers

In analysing the impact of offshoring on the skill composition, previous empirical studies have established that offshoring firms employ more non‐production workers. However, not all non‐production workers are highly skilled. This paper disaggregates non‐production workers into the following three categories: (i) skilled non‐production workers, (ii) unskilled non‐production workers and (iii) non‐production workers with special skills for offshoring and other overseas business management. By linking our offshoring survey data with firm‐level data for Japanese manufacturing firms, this paper finds that the share of skilled non‐production workers tends to be significantly high in offshoring firms but that of unskilled non‐production workers is not. As offshoring has expanded from production to non‐production tasks, this result implies that the distinction between skilled versus unskilled workers becomes critical among non‐production workers. Using our unique data on supplier types in offshoring, this paper finds that the share of non‐production workers for the management of overseas activities tends to be high in foreign direct investment firms and in firms outsourcing to foreign independent suppliers, but not in Japanese firms outsourcing to offshore suppliers located abroad but owned by other Japanese firms. This difference indicates that coordination burdens are likely to be at least partly mitigated by common languages or shared business practices. These findings suggest that offshoring has different impacts on employment depending on suppliers and the worker’s skill. The principal results are confirmed robust even after various firm characteristics are controlled for in panel regressions, though we should not give any causal interpretations.     

Trilemma policy convergence patterns and output volatility

We examine the development of open macroeconomic policy choices among developing economies from the perspective of the powerful “trilemma” hypothesis. We construct an index of divergence of the three trilemma policy choices, and evaluate its patterns in recent decades. We find that the three dimensions of the trilemma configurations are converging toward a “middle ground” among emerging market economies, equipped with managed exchange rate flexibility, underpinned by sizable holdings of international reserves, and intermediate levels of monetary independence and financial integration. We also find emerging market economies with more converged policy choices tend to experience smaller output volatility in the last two decades. Emerging markets with relatively low international reserves/GDP could experience higher levels of output volatility when they choose a policy combination with a greater degree of policy divergence while this heightened output volatility effect does not apply to economies with relatively high international reserves/GDP holding.     

Distributional effects of agricultural cooperatives in China: Exclusion of smallholders and potential gains on participation

This paper examines the treatment effects of the agricultural cooperative and publicly funded extension services on individual household economy, using data collected by the author from watermelon-producing farm households in rural Nanjing. The cooperative addressed in this study restricts the participation of small-scale farmers, implying that selection into the program must be taken into consideration for an accurate assessment of the treatment effect. The econometric analysis revealed that government extension services have a modest effect on farm income. In contrast, the treatment effect of the agricultural cooperative is robust and substantially large, accounting for nearly 70% of the pre-matching difference. This suggests that the agricultural cooperative system is an important avenue for farmers to improve their economic status. The treatment effect of the agricultural cooperative is highly heterogeneous; the economic benefits arising from the cooperative are significant only for small-scale farms. We can argue that a coexistence of smallholder exclusion and the treatment effect in favor of small-scale farms poses serious challenges to pro-poor agricultural growth in China.     

Caste discrimination and transaction costs in the labor market: Evidence from rural North India

This paper is an empirical attempt to quantify caste-based discrimination in the labor market using household data taken from rural North India. In the regression analysis, transaction costs associated with entry into the labor market and reservation wages are estimated simultaneously along with market wages. The estimation results provide evidence of the existence of transaction costs in the labor market and discrimination against backward classes with regard to access to regular employment. In line with previous studies, the results suggest that the achievements of India's reservation policy so far have at best been limited. In addition, a comparison between the estimates from the model employed in this paper and conventional (reduced-form) approaches shows that discrimination in labor market entry is likely to be underestimated in the conventional reduced-form approaches.     

Internationalization in Japan’s service industries

The relatively low level of internationalization in Japan’s service industries is a cause of real concern among policy-makers and service industry executives. Explanations have focused on distinctive features of Japan’s culture, particularly its service culture, and idiosyncratically demanding customers. Two additional factors are also of significance: the complexity of the customer interface and process embeddedness in the home country. Mapping service sectors in terms of these two dimensions offers insights into the challenges faced by Japanese service firms, while also providing a framework for assessing home country effects in general.     

Jobs,education and the underdevelopment trap

The purpose of this paper is to examine the complementarity between job opportunities and the level of worker education as a cause of the underdevelopment trap. I show that if firms or workers in the labour market have to spend money or time searching for a partner, then an underdevelopment trap may occur. This underdevelopment trap occurs due to thc complementarity between the firms' decision about their entry into the market and the workers' choice of the length of her education. This paper stresses the importance of a decrease in private costs of receiving higher education and recruiting new workers.     

Mainland Chinese Canadian Immigrants' Leisure Satisfaction and Subjective Well-Being: Results of a Two-Year Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine whether recent Chinese Canadian immigrants' (a) leisure satisfaction, happiness, and life satisfaction changed over a two-year period and (b) if leisure satisfaction affected their subjective well-being (SWB) over this same period. Participants completed an initial, trilingual telephone questionnaire (N = 220) and then were recontacted every six months for two years. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that leisure satisfaction decreased over the two-year period, likely because of “leisure shock,” employment of a “withdrawn” strategy, or both. The results also showed that leisure satisfaction significantly and positively affected happiness and life satisfaction. Study limitations are identified, theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and future research recommendations are outlined.     

A Cross-Cultural/National Study of Canadian,Chinese, and Japanese University Students' Leisure Satisfaction and Subjective Well-Being

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine whether Canadian, Chinese, and Japanese university students' leisure satisfaction affected their subjective well-being (SWB) and, if so, how this process was similar and different cross-culturally/nationally. A series of stepwise multiple regressions indicated that, in general, satisfying leisure significantly and positively impacted SWB across all three cultures, but there were also differences between (a) Canada and both China and Japan in terms of aesthetic leisure satisfaction and (b) China and Japan in terms of psychological and physiological leisure satisfaction. Overall, our results suggest that while satisfying leisure significantly, positively, and substantively impacts SWB in both Western and East Asian cultural contexts, culture frequently influences which specific elements are pertinent. This cross-cultural/national study has important theoretical and practical implications for the currently Western-centric leisure literature and for the understanding of the different roles leisure plays in enhancing SWB across cultures, respectively.