Firm Organization,Technology And Performance: An Empirical Study ∗

The purpose of the study is to characterize different styles of work organization in French firms and their current changes and to link them to the use of specific technologies and to firms performance. The data which are used arc of two kinds: a labor force survey (1 470 blue collar) and a business survey (7 089 firms). We show that two main variables create differences among firms' organization devices: the intensity of communication within the workshop and the level of autonomy of workers (facing technological and hierarchical constraints). The use of advanced technologies and the skill of the labor force are positively linked to both organizational variables. Therefore. ‘Communicating organization’ and organizational innovation seem to aim at creating conditions for individual and collective learning on new technologies. They also enhance the ability of the firm to adapt to changing market conditions through technological innovation and inventory reduction, These views are supported by econometric estimation.     

Demand in New Zealand hospitals: expect the unexpected?

The health care sector in New Zealand has undergone substantial structural reform since 1983 and stands out relative to other OECD countries, with relatively low per capita health expenditure and a high share of public funding. Efficient allocation of resources in this public dominant health system is therefore paramount. This article uses a national database of hospital admissions to predict hospital demand. We find lagged information on patient demand imperative in formulating an easy to implement approach for predictive purposes. Contrasting predicted with actual demand, we construct an indicator of volatility in unexpected patient demand (at both the hospital and the disease chapter level) and assess its role with regard to patient outcomes. There is consistent evidence that when actual patient numbers exceed predicted, patients stay in hospital significantly longer and are more likely to have an acute readmission.     

Charitable Donations: Evidence of Demand for Environmental Protection?

Using data from the 2001 Giving and Volunteering in the United States survey, I examine household charitable donations to environmental organizations. Household income has a positive impact on environmental giving. While the tax price affects overall charitable contributions, it does not affect environmental giving. More education, being female, homeownership, and voting are also associated with a greater likelihood of contributing to the environment. African-Americans and Latinos are less likely to contribute to the environment, although conditional on giving, Latinos give more. Retired persons and households with children are less likely to contribute to the environment. Larger households give less to the environment. Households from the Northeast are the most likely to make environmental contributions while households from the South are the least likely.

The Impact Of New Technologies On Wages: Lessons From Matching Panels On Employees And On Their Firms †

We study the impact on New Technologies (NT) on wages using a panel that matches data on individuals and on their firms. In his article on the same topic, Krueger (1993) did not give a definitive answer to the following question: if workers who use NT are better paid, is it because they are abler or because NT increases their productivity. We try to provide an answer to this question. Comparing cross-section estimates and individual fixed-effect estimates, we show that computer-based new technologies are used by abler workers. These workers learn and become more productive when they get more experienced with these NT. In terns of wage differentials, the introduction of computer-based NT contributes to a small increase. The use of firm-level data does not modify these conclusions.     

Wages in Managed Markets: An Explanation of the Gender Wage Gap?

Over the last decade or so in Australia, relative wages have declined in some female‐dominated occupations, notably in the care industries. This article argues that the strong growth in labour force participation of mature‐aged women has allowed wages to remain low in these ‘managed’ industries. Limited mobility across industries and occupations, at least in part due to preferences for part‐time work, and an institutional wage‐setting mechanism also play a role. Growing demand for workers in the care industries, rising skill levels of women, and slowing growth in participation as rates converge with those of men will contribute to stronger wage growth in the future.     

The cause of Danish unemployment: Demand or supply shocks?

We study the Danish unemployment experience 1905–92 using a common trends model with cointegration constraints. To justify the identifying assumptions about the cointegration vectors and the common trends we present a simple macroeconomic model of the labor market. The model determines the long run behavior of labor productivity, employment, unemployment, real product and real consumer wages. The empirical results give support for three cointegration relations and two common trends. Based on the economic model the trends are interpreted as representing labor productivity (technology) and labor supply. With unemployment being nonstationary, the common trends analysis indicates that labor supply shocks is the primary source for explaining the behavior of unemployment. First Version Received: August 1999/Final Version Received: June 2000     

Interpreting the movement of oil prices: Driven by fundamentals or bubbles?

Based on the historical data of crude oil, diesel and gasoline markets during November 2001–December 2015, this paper employs the state-space model and log-periodic power law (LPPL) model to explore the dynamic bubbles of oil prices and predict their crash time. The results indicate that, first, oil price bubbles only exist during November 2001–July 2008, and crude oil and diesel prices are significantly driven by bubbles, whereas gasoline prices are mainly driven by fundamentals. Second, the state-space model captures the time-varying bubbles of crude oil and diesel prices. Finally, the LPPL model well predicts the crash time of bubbles.     

Demand for sexual services in Britain: Does Sex Education Matter?

On survey data from 1999 to 2001 and 2010 to 2012, we estimate the demand for commercial sex among British men. We estimate a zero‐inflated count model, which takes into account the probability of not participating in the sex market and number of times with a prostitute. We find that sex education in school has a negative and significant role in the demand for paid sex. We also find that men with a typical middle‐class income are more likely to buy sex. Travelling abroad or living in London increases the likelihood of British men buying sex.     

Sectoral and Aggregate Technology Shocks:Is There a Relationship?

We analyze sector-specific shocks in productivity and demand in 19 manufacturing sectors of the Austrian economy. Based on a structural vector autoregressive model (SVAR) with long-run restrictions developed by Galí (1999) we extract technology and non-technology shocks from sectoral and aggregate data. We study their patterns and relationship by means of a principal components analysis and find a close association of sectoral and macroeconomic non-technology shocks but only a very weak association for technology shocks. Impulse response analysis indicates that for almost all manufacturing sectors as well as the aggregate Austrian economy productivity growth rates experience an immediate increase due to positive technology shocks while hours worked decline. Thereby we confirm Galís results on the level of Austrian manufacturing industries. From regression analysis, we find that our shocks are closely associated to employment growth and output growth but not to investment growth and that the reaction is different for the aggregate economy and manufacturing industries.JEL codes: D24, E23, E32, O30We thank Werner Müller and the participants of the 2004 conference of the Austrian Economic Association (NOeG) for helpful comments. We would like to thank an anonymous referee for many helpful comments that led to a substantial improvement of the paper. The usual disclaimer applies. This research project was supported by a research Grant (Project Nr. 9800) of the Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichische Nationalbank (OeNB).     

Product differentiation in the German soft drink market: which attributes matter?

In this study, we apply a hedonic pricing model to a unique data set of the German carbonated soft drink market. We distinguish between traditional brands and private label brands and include a variety of product attributes such as flavour, sugar content and bottle size in our analysis. Our results show that most traditional brands yield highest price premiums. However, organic niche products seem to be even more profitable. Also, unconventional flavours, small bottle sizes and retailing in supermarkets lead to higher price premiums. Private label brands are associated with highest negative price premiums.     

Aggregate Demand and Aggregate Supply: Will the Real Keynes Please Stand Up?

Two recent articles in this journal present conflicting interpretations of the Aggregate Demand/Aggregate Supply (D/Z) model contained in Chapter 3 of Keynes's General Theory. This paper evaluates the two interpretations to determine which aligns more closely with Keynes's own views.     

Usage of formal financial services in India: Demand barriers or supply constraints?

Estimating the role of both demand-side and supply-side factors in financial inclusion and its distribution is important for policy making. However, existing literature has primarily focused on supply-side factors. In this context, this paper estimates relative importance of removing demand-side barriers and eliminating supply constraints to enhance financial inclusion in India. It also measures the extent of concentration of usage of formal financial services among richer households. Results suggest that, while availability of banking services has a significant positive effect on usage of formal financial services, its contribution in inducing households to use formal financial services is very small compared to the contribution of factors, such as education, income, employment status, gender and social norms, that influence the demand for formal financial services. It highlights the importance of placing greater emphasis on addressing demand-side barriers, rather than on improving physical availability of banking services, to promote financial inclusion in India.     

Strategic Technology Alliances: A Way to Innovative Enterprises in Russia?

This article examines whether, how, and to what extent international technology partnerships of Russian enterprises and research institutes contribute to their technological capability building. It presents results obtained by analysis of both a unique survey of Russian enterprises and research institutes co-operating with Western partners in seven selected high-technology fields and four Russian regions with a high concentration of R&D, and additional evidence from 16 in-depth interviews with managers of such Russian high-technology entities (HTE).     

The Endowment Effect and Repeated Market Trials: Is the Vickrey Auction Demand Revealing?

The difference between people's valuations of gains and losses has been widely observed in both single trial and repeated trial experiments, as well as in survey responses and in commonplace behavior. However, the results of some Vickrey auction experiments indicate that the disparity may decrease, or even disappear, over repeated trials. This paper reports the results of two further repeated Vickrey auction experiments that test the impact of both a second price and a ninth price auction rule on valuations. Although valuations should be independent of this variation in the exchange price rule, the manipulation had a dramatic impact on subjects' stated values of a common market good. The results suggest that the endowment effect remains robust over repeated trials, and that contrary to common understanding, the Vickrey auction may elicit differing demands dependent on the context of the valuation.     

Technology transfer and spillovers: Does local participation with multinationals matter?

This paper examines the effects on technology transfer and spillovers deriving from ownership sharing of foreign multinational affiliates. More specifically, we try to answer two questions, using unpublished Indonesian micro data. Firstly, do establishments with minority and majority ownership differ in terms of productivity levels? Secondly, does the degree of spillover differ with the degree of ownership in the FDI? Our results show that foreign establishments have comparable high levels of labor productivity and that domestic establishments benefit from spillovers. However, the degree of foreign ownership does neither affect the level of labor productivity in foreign establishments, nor the degree of spillovers.     

China's Exchange Rate and International Adjustment in Wages, Prices and Interest Rates: Japan Deja Vu?

China's fixed its exchange rate at 8.28 yuan to the dollar from1994 to July 2005, and has only allowed for a small appreciationsince then. China's productivity growth has been very high relativeto most other countries: its trade surplus has been rising andit continues to accumulate large dollar exchange reserves. Manyobservers, including high officials in the US government, takethis as per se evidence that the renminbi is undervalued. Tobalance China's international competitiveness and reduce itstrade surplus, they want the renminbi to appreciate much more.This common presumption of renminbi undervaluation is wrong,and its appreciation need not reduce China's trade surplus butwould cause serious deflation in China. To show this, we considerinternational adjustment between China and the US from bothan asset market and a labor market perspective, and comparethis to Japan's unsuccessful appreciation of the yen from 1971to 1995. During a time of economic catch-up and rapid financialtransformation, fixing the exchange rate is the preferred wayof anchoring the domestic price level. (JEL codes: F15, F31,F33)     

Of Markets And Martyrs: Is It OK To Pay Well For Care?

If caring work were well paid, would it lose some of the special, emotional, interpersonal aspects we want in "real" care relationships? Some fear that the introduction of "market values" would lead to such an outcome. This article seeks to bring to light some logical fallacies and insufficiently expunged gender dualisms that may lie, unexamined, under such concerns. Examining the ways we think and talk about markets, meanings, and motivations, it argues that the foci of feminist concern should instead be the concrete structures of caregiving and the problem of under-demand.     

Technology adoption: does labour skill matter? Evidence from Portuguese firm-level data

This paper investigates the effect of labour characteristics on the decision to adopt new technologies. As a potential endogeneity problem might arise, we implement estimation techniques that control for endogenous covariates. The results suggest that the share of skilled employees has a significant positive impact on the likelihood of adoption, providing an additional and interesting insight in understanding technology adoption. We also find that firms’ nationality does not matter to the adoption process. The transfer of technology due to foreign investment may not be a widespread phenomenon, casting doubts on the standard internalization theory of foreign direct investment.