Transition to market economics: Employment and informal activity in rural areas

According to the neo-liberal model, the high levels of unemployment and collapsing real wages of transition will reallocate labor to new activities. But whether and how households actually reallocate labor is the subject of growing debate. We use survey data from Bulgaria to develop a typology of rural households based on their labor allocation characteristics. We find a diversity of outcomes. A significant share of households experience no change in labor allocation, some shift labor to own commercial enterprises, but a significant minority are displaced from the emerging market economy. Potential for informal activity among these households appears limited. Of great concern is the regional concentration of such households.     

产业内贸易对劳动力市场调整的影响分析——基于中国制造业面板数据的SAH检验

随着中国经济全球化进程的深化,外贸对国内经济的影响日益显著。根据平滑调整假说(SAH),劳动力市场调整成本会随着产业内贸易水平的提高而降低。基于中国制造业22个细分行业面板数据进行检验,本文发现间隔3年的边际内产业指数最为有效,且产业内贸易水平对劳动力市场调整具有滞后效应,但回归分析结果并不支持SAH。随着产业内贸易比例扩大,劳动力的产业间调整增加,而并非产业内的调整。此外,劳动生产率和国内显性需求对劳动力市场调整有很大影响,在产业内贸易水平较高的行业内,劳动生产率的这种影响更加显著,而显性需求和产业内贸易水平影响作用较弱。     

Demystify the labor statistics in China

In contrast to the great changes from a planning economy to market economic system, the transition in statistics system is left behind. The problem is quite serious in labor statistics. The paper reviews how the current labor statistical system collects the data and its reliability. By analyzing relevant indicators, the paper points out that policy-making based on the current labor statistics may mislead the outcomes in the Chinese labor market. To improve the labor statistics, a deep and comprehensive reform in the statistical system is required.     

THE IMPACT OF LABOR MARKET REGULATION ON EMPLOYMENT IN LOW‐INCOME COUNTRIES: A META‐ANALYSIS

Controversy over labor market policy often centers on achieving a balance between preventing worker exploitation, and avoiding loss of productivity or employment through excessive regulation. Although the literature documenting the impact of labor market regulation on employment is extensive, there is a dearth of evidence on the impact of such policies in low‐income countries (LICs). Since it is easier for workers, especially women, to slip into the informal sector in LICs, regulations are likely to have stronger impacts on formal employment in these countries (but lower impacts on unemployment). We systematically reviewed available research from countries that are, or were until recently, LICs. Most studies document that more stringent labor regulations are associated with lower formal sector employment and higher informal sector employment. We also conducted a metaregression analysis of the impact of minimum wages on formal and informal employment. After controlling for publication bias, higher minimum wages are associated with lower formal employment and a higher share of informal workers.     

讨论式教学法在劳动与社会保障法教学中的应用

讨论式教学有别于传统的讲授式教学。为了达到良好的教学效果，讨论的主题应当紧扣劳动与社会保障法课程内容，能够激发学生的讨论热情，难易适中。在讨论过程中，教师应居于主导地位，有效地控制讨论进程，把握讨论方向，避免偏离讨论主题。讨论结束后，教师要及时总结、评价和补充，对涉及的理论或制度问题进行系统的整理和陈述，以达到讨论式教学的目标。     

Marx on division of labour,mechanization and technical progress

The paper reconstructs Marx's analysis of the development of the forces of production in terms of the interaction among division of labour in particular processes of production, social division of labour and technical progress. It also brings out Marx's conception of technical progress and establishes his view of the essential interdependence among the development of the forces of production, the process of capital accumulation and the expansion of markets; it further brings out the role of competition as a fundamental driving force in the interrelated processes of accumulation and of development of the social productivity of labour.     

Downward wage rigidity and business cycle asymmetries

The growth rates of wages, unemployment and output of a number of OECD countries have a strongly skewed distribution. In this paper we analyze to what extent downward wage rigidities can explain these empirical business cycle asymmetries. To this aim, we introduce asymmetric wage adjustment costs in a New-Keynesian DSGE model with search and matching frictions in the labor market. Increasing wages is less costly than cutting them. It follows that wages increase relatively fast and thus limit vacancy posting and employment creation, but they decline more slowly, leading to a strong reduction in vacancies and employment. The presence of downward wage rigidities strongly improves the fit of the model to the observed skewness of labor market variables and the relative length of expansions and contractions in the output and the employment cycles. The asymmetry also explains the differing transmission of positive and negative monetary policy shocks from wages to inflation.     

新疆企业用工需求与劳动力供给问题调查研究

发展是第一要务，是解决新疆一切问题的基础。中央新疆工作座谈会的召开，19个省市的大力支持，以及中央出台的一系列特殊优惠政策和措施，为新疆大建设、大开放、大发展提供了前所未有的历史机遇。疆内众多企业在此大环境下抓住有利时机，增加订单，扩大产能，千方百计加快发展。此时企业用工需求量也在大幅增加，出现了“招工难”、“用工荒”的社会现象，已影响到企业的生产经营和发展前景。本文立足新疆实际，采用问卷调查的方法，对当前企业用工和劳动力供给状况以及存在的问题开展调查研究，深刻剖析了企业劳动力供给与需求不匹配的原因和症结，并提出政策建议。     

农村剩余劳动力转移与教育投资主体多元化

现阶段我国面临农村剩余劳动力转移的巨大压力,而农村教育水平低是制约农村剩余劳动力转移的根本性原因。在农村教育投资机制中,政府、企业与农户均呈现出投资不力状况,建立多元化的农村教育投资新机制,鼓励多方投资农村教育,提高农民素质,实现农村剩余劳动力的转移。     

Adam Smith and the division of labour: is there a difference between organisation and market?

The paper claims that, in The Wealth of Nations, the divisionof labour refers simultaneously to two different things: a socialdivision of labour and an organisational division of labour.The central point is that the organisation of work (the organisationaldivision of labour) in the firm is the logical counterpart ofthe social division of labour, and that these reflect two inseparableaspects of the process of the division of labour. Smith is thusconcerned with organisations as well as with markets, each functioningaccording to the same principle. Hence, Smith does not believethat the organisational and the social divisions of labour arefundamentally different, although he does recognise some variationbetween them and describes different states of the divisionof labour within the firm, liberal and capitalist.