Firm‐Level Collective Bargaining and Wages in Greece: A Quantile Decomposition Analysis

This article analyzes the effect of firm‐level contracting on the wage structure in the Greek private sector. Using a matched employer–employee dataset for 2006, unconditional quantile regressions and relevant decomposition methods, we identify a wage premium associated with firm‐level contracting, which follows a hump‐shaped profile across the wage distribution. Further, the wage differential between workers under firm‐level and broader‐level collective agreements can be primarily attributed to the differences in the regime‐specific wage setting structure, for those below the median of the unconditional wage distribution, and to differences in worker and firm‐specific characteristics for those in the upper tail.     

Reciprocal Loyalty and Union Mediation

This study investigates the concept of loyalty in the employment relationship using a stated preference approach and a dataset obtained through purpose‐built questionnaires. Reciprocal loyalty is defined as a gift exchange. Workers' good performance is rewarded by the employer by the provision of a job with a low likelihood of job loss. The study shows that such reciprocal employer–employee loyalty is highly rated by the workers as a desirable job attribute. Loyalty in the employer–employee relationship is differently valued by unionized and nonunionized workers. Overall, the evidence suggests that unionized workers are more receptive to arrangements involving reciprocal loyalty. This may be an outcome of adaptation to internalized norms of union behavior.     

GDP trend deviations and the yield spread: the case of eight E.U. countries

Several studies have established the predictive power of the yield curve in terms of real economic activity. In this paper we use data for a variety of E.U. countries: both EMU (Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain) and non-EMU members (Norway, Sweden and the U.K.). The data used range from 1991:Q1 to 2009:Q3. For each country, we extract the long run trend and the cyclical component of real economic activity, while the corresponding ECB euro area government benchmark bond interest rates of long and short term maturities are used for the calculation of the yield spreads. We also augment the models tested with non monetary policy variables: the respective unemployment rates and stock indices. The methodology employed in the effort to forecast real output, is a probit model of the inverse cumulative distribution function of the standard distribution, using several formal forecasting and goodness of fit evaluation criteria. The results show that the yield curve augmented with the non-monetary variables has significant forecasting power in terms of real economic activity but the results differ qualitatively between the individual economies examined raising non-trivial policy implications.     

Corporate social responsibility and access to finance

We investigate whether superior performance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies leads to better access to finance. We hypothesize that better access to finance can be attributed to (1) reduced agency costs due to enhanced stakeholder engagement and (2) reduced informational asymmetry due to increased transparency. Using a large cross‐section of firms, we find that firms with better CSR performance face significantly lower capital constraints. We provide evidence that both better stakeholder engagement and transparency around CSR performance are important in reducing capital constraints. The results are further confirmed using several alternative measures of capital constraints, a paired analysis based on a ratings shock to CSR performance, an instrumental variables approach, and a simultaneous equations approach. Finally, we show that the relation is driven by both the social and environmental dimension of CSR. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

NONREPLICATION OF OPTIONS

In this paper, we study the replication of options in security markets X with a finite number of states. Specifically, we prove that in security markets without binary vectors, for any portfolio, at most m ? 3 options can be replicated where m is the number of states. This is an essential improvement of the result of Baptista where it is proved that the set of replicated options is of measure zero. Additionally, we extend the results of Aliprantis and Tourky on the nonreplication of options by generalizing their condition that markets are strongly resolving. Our results are based on the theory of lattice‐subspaces and positive bases.     

Knowledge management in enterprises: a research agenda

Knowledge management (KM) is an emerging area, which is gaining interest by both enterprises and academics. The effective implementation of a KM strategy is considering as a ‘must’ and as a precondition of success for contemporary enterprises, as they enter the era of the knowledge economy. However, the field of KM has been slow in formulating a universally accepted methodology, due to the many pending issues that have to be addressed. This paper attempts to propose a novel taxonomy for KM research by co‐instantaneously presenting the current status with some major themes of KM research. The discussion presented on these issues should be of value to researchers and practitioners. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Risk informed decision making in land use planning

The objective of the paper is to present a multicriteria decision methodology for supporting decisions about patterns of land development in the vicinity of major hazard installations. The proposed methodology is based on the paradigm of Multicriteria Decision Analysis and aims at integrating the results of risk analysis of major hazard installations with models for land use planning. The methodology possesses two main features: it is interactive and it does not require assessment of value tradeoffs prior to assessing the most preferred land use pattern. The latter is achieved by determining the efficient set of land use patterns by means of a dynamic programming-based algorithm. The proposed methodology and the use of the efficient set of solutions in supporting land use planning decisions are demonstrated through an application. Four criteria are used in the application, three referring to risk and one to the benefits of alternative land use patterns, although the methodology can accept any number of decision criteria as well as various types of land development. A computerized decision support system has been developed to implement the proposed methodology.     

The implied liquidity premium for equities

Over the long term, the returns on smaller stocks are likely to be higher than the returns on larger stocks. This phenomenon has been called size effect, and a number of explanations have been proposed to account for it. Here we show that the difference in return between the larger and the smaller stocks can be accounted for by a liquidity premium for the smaller stocks, and we estimate the value of this premium using structural parameters for the capital distribution of the U.S. stock market during the 1990s The authors wish to express their gratitude to an anonymous referee for a very thorough and incisive reading, as well as for many constructive suggestions that have significantly improved this paper. The authors wish to express their gratitude to an anonymous referee for a very thorough and incisive reading, as well as for many constructive suggestions that have significantly improved this paper.     

Output fluctuations with bargained wages and a competitive tradeable goods sector in the economy: Empirical estimates for the group of five, 1970.1 — 1985.4

Zusammenfassung Produktionsschwankungen bei ausgehandelten L?hnen und einem Wettbewerbssektor mit handelbaren Gütern. Empirische Befunde für die Fünfergruppe von Industriel?ndern für die Periode 1970–1985. — Der Verfasser untersucht die Beziehungen zwischen Lohnanpassung, Wettbewerbsf?higkeit, Fiskalpolitik und den Fluktuationen der gesamtwirtschaftlichen Produktion in den fünf wichtigsten Industrienationen vom ersten Quartal 1970 bis zum vierten Quartal 1985. Das von ihm benutzte Modell hat zwei besondere Merkmale: (i) unterschieden wird zwischen dem Sektor der handelbaren und dem der nicht handelbaren Güter; (ii) die L?hne sind das Ergebnis von Verhandlungen in dem Sektor, in dem Wettbewerb herrscht und in dem es handelbare Güter gibt. Als Ergebnis zeigen sich erhebliche Unterschiede zwischen den L?ndern — nicht nur bei den Gleichgewichtswerten, sondern auch bei den kurzfristigen Anpassungen.

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Resumen Fluctuaciones de la production en una economía con salarios negociados y un sector comercial competitivo: estimaciones empíricas para el Grupo de los Cinco 1970:I-1985:IV. — En este trabajo se investiga las relaciones entre ajuste salarial, competitividad, politica fiscal y fluctuaciones agregadas en las economías industriales más importantes durante el periodo 1970–1985. El modelo utilizado exhibe dos caracteristicas particulares: (a) la distinción entre bienes comerciados y bienes no comerciados y (b) negociaciones salariales que tienen lugar en el sector competitivo de bienes comerciados. Los resultados revelan diferencias substanciales entre los países, no sólo en sus relaciones de equilibrio, sino también en sus ajustes de corto plazo.

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Résumé Fluctuations de l’output dans une économie aux salaires négociés et au secteur compétitif des biens commerciaux: estimations empiriques pour le Groupe de Cinq, 1970:I à 1985:IV. — Dans cette étude l’auteur analyse les relations entre l’ajustement des salaires, la compétitivité, la politique fiscale et les fluctuations de production dans les économies industrialisées les plus importantes pendant la période 1970 à 1985. Le modèle a deux caractéristiques particuliers: (i) la distinction entre un secteur commercial et un secteur non-commercial, et (ii) la négociation des salaires qui a lieu au secteur compétitif des biens commerciaux. Les résultats rélèvent des différences substantielles entre les pays et pas seulement concernant les relations d’équilibre, mais aussi concernant leurs ajustements à court terme.

     

Quantile regression analysis of hedge fund strategies

Extending previous work on hedge fund pricing, this paper introduces the idea of modelling the conditional quantiles of hedge fund returns using a set of risk factors. Quantile regression analysis provides a way of understanding how the relationship between hedge fund returns and risk factors changes across the distribution of conditional returns. We propose a Bayesian approach to model comparison which provides posterior probabilities for different risk factor models that can be used for model averaging. The most relevant risk factors are identified for different quantiles and compared with those obtained for the conditional expectation model. We find differences in factor effects across quantiles of returns, which suggest that the standard conditional mean regression method may not be adequate for uncovering the risk-return characteristics of hedge funds. We explore potential economic impacts of our approach by analysing hedge fund single strategy return series and by constructing style portfolios.