Fluctuations in Unemployment and Industry Labor Markets

Throughout the 1990s, and particularly in the mid- to late-1990s, the Japanese employment situation went from bad to worse. We investigate the causes of rising unemployment in Japan, using data on individual workers from the “Special Survey of the Labor Force” between 1988 and 1999. This research focuses on the effect of labor market segmentation by industry on labor flows. Our findings reveal that unemployment in the construction industry and, more recently, in the service industry has contributed greatly to the national unemployment rate. We also find that most successful job transfers occur within the same industry, even though workers may experience some periods of unemployment. Finally, our results show that labor market conditions in each industry affect the probability that a worker will fall into unemployment as well as the probability that an unemployed worker will find new employment. These findings suggest that the Japanese labor market is segmented by industry and this segmentation contributed to the worsening unemployment in Japan. J. Japan. Int. Econ., December 2001, 15(4), pp. 437–464. Department of Economics, Dokkyo University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Soka-shi, Saitama 340-0042, Japan; Graduate School of Economics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8601, Japan. © 2001 Elsevier Science (USA).Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: J63, J64.     

Solution to the Dilemma of the Migrant Labor Shortage and the Rural Labor Surplus in China

Since 2003, China＇s labor market has been facing two coexisting crises： a rural labor surplus and a severe shortage of migrant labor Using data from the 2000 China Health and Nutrition Survey questionnaire, which covers 288 villages in 36 counties, this paper attempts to find a solution to this dilemma. Specifically, a multinomial logit model, a Mincer- type model and a probit model are applied to examine the effect of educational level on the employment choices for rural laborers, and on the wages and the employment status of migrants. Based on the results of our analysis, we propose the implementation of policy aimed at increasing the educational level of rural dwellers, in conjunction with other policies to eliminate all artificial barriers, to facilitate the migration of rural laborers.     

我国农民工劳动合约签订率低的原因分析——基于劳动力市场分割和产业分割的分析框架

劳动合约签订是劳动保护的重要形式,但我国农民工劳动合约签订率却只是在2008年《劳动合同法》实施后有暂时较大幅度的上扬,此后随时间推移却几近停滞。文章以劳动力市场分割和产业分割框架为基础,构建了不同劳动力市场特征和产业组织特征组合的四象限分析框架,探讨了不同象限中劳动合约的运行机制,并结合我国边缘产业和农民工现状,就劳动合约签订问题建立了一个简单的博弈模型。分析得出,在边缘产业与次级劳动力市场的组合下,农民工劳动合约签订存在着组织失灵、市场失灵和政府失灵三重困境,这是我国农民工劳动合同签约率停滞不前的主要原因。文章最后提出了相应的结论和政策建议。     

农业产业集群与农村劳动力就业的机理研究

解决“三农”问题关键是如何促进农村剩余劳动力就业,提高农民收入。然而受到2008年美国的金融危机的影响。农村劳动力就业更加困难。目前解决农村劳动力就业问题行之有效的方式是发展农业产业集群。文章深入分析农业产业集群对农村劳动力就业的作用机理,从农业产业集群的角度,提出了解决农村劳动力就业的政策建议。     

Privatization and Labor Cost Savings: Evidence from Health Care Services

This study examines whether privatization is associated with low public sector health care wages and with low probability of public sector employment for health care providers. Findings suggest that privatization contributes significantly to low wages of union health care providers in the public sector. Privatization also contributes to a low probability of public sector employment in this industry, especially to unionized workers. These results indicate that competition enhancing policy can promote lower labor costs even in a service sector that employs a highly skilled work force.

进一步规范我国劳务派遣行业发展的必要性

阐述了劳务派遣行业在我国的产生和发展情况,比较了中西方有关劳务派遣行业的法律规范的异同,分析了我国劳务派遣行业中“同工同酬”规定的不合理性,提出了规范限制劳务派遣三大主体、促进劳务派遣行业健康发展、保护被派遣劳动者合法权益的对策。     

The Synergistic Effects Between Insurance and Credit Markets on Economic Growth: Evidence from China

Insurance and credit markets share some common roles in stimulating economic growth, whether they are complementary or not is worth researching further. Based on the generalized method of moments, this paper investigates the synergistic effects between insurance and credit markets on economic growth in Chinese different regions using an interaction term in the regression model. Moreover, to understand the different economic roles of life and nonlife insurance sectors, we include them into estimation model as well. The results indicate that total insurance and credit markets are substituted, life insurance and credit markets are substituted, and nonlife insurance and credit markets are complementary in the whole region. Specifically, the synergistic effects between insurance and credit markets on economic growth vary considerably across different regions. These findings offer several useful insights for policy-makers.     

我国经济发展水平与劳动力就业数量关系研究——兼论我国劳动力资源是否过剩

我国劳动力对经济发展而言,其生产率高于资本,因而经济发展对劳动力就业的促进作用逐渐减弱（经济增长的就业弹性逐渐变小）。据测算,我国2013年以前劳动力就业压力很大,2015年以后劳动力又会供不应求。所以,我国未来经济发展中,2014年前后应采用不同的产业结构调整策略来充分满足劳动力就业的要求。