Unions and the economic basis of attitudes

Unions make differences to employee satisfaction that correspond to their effects on individual economic advantage. Panel data reveal how changes in economic circumstance and changes in job satisfaction are linked to changes in union coverage. When individuals move into a union covered job they receive a wage mark‐up and express enhanced pay satisfaction. Conversely, those moving from a union covered job on average lose any mark‐up and have significantly reduced satisfaction. Similar findings emerge for working hours. On average individuals prefer shorter hours, something they tend (not) to achieve on moving (out of) into a unionised job, resulting in higher (lower) satisfaction. Switching into union coverage lowers satisfaction with job security, even though coverage has no effect on the risk of unemployment. This is because covered employees suffer greater costs of re‐employment for a given level of unemployment risk, partly because of loss of the union mark‐up.     

A comparative analysis of the economic movements on the basis of a growth matrix

This paper considers the comparative analysis of the economic aggregates on the basis of the growth matrix and the corresponding blocks of growth. The aim is to synthetically encompass and analyze indicators of the aggregates (output, revenue, income, accumulation, etc.) through the blocks of growth. The block of growth represents a general scheme of growth of the ith and jth aggregates and enables the determination of important indicators P, Q, E and K. In other words, the block of growth is used to establish indicators of the ith and jth aggregates and, at the same time, for describing their absolute and relative changes as well as discovering the trends of these changes in the ensuing period. In this way, it is possible to analyze the structural and dynamic changes of aggregates and determine their behaviour in subsequent periods.     

把握规律切实转变经济增长方式--我国经济增长的因素分析

本文从资本、劳动力、人力资本、产业结构、制度变迁等影响经济增长的因素出发,建立了我国经济增长的模型;对影响我国经济增长的因素进行了实证分析;通过对实证分析结论的解释,对我国经济增长提出规律性认识;从科学发展观的高度,对保持我国经济持续高速增长提出了一些建议。     

物流人才培养应准确把握宽口径重基础科学含义

文中针对物流教育近年来超常发展的现实和存在的的主要问题,重点论述了宽口径、重基础的在我国高等教育现阶段的合理内涵和确切含义,并认为,物流教育应以相对明确的目标岗位群为培养方向,才能培养出真正满足企业需求的毕业生。     

The persistence of economic profit

Recently, as practitioners and researchers from developed countries have increasingly probed the activities of emerging economies, what exactly drives the long-term economic profitability of firms in China has become the most salient issue in the above fields. However, a study dedicated to the persistence analysis of profitability differentials among firms in China has not yet been proposed. This study thus employs China’s business database to examine the persistence in the incremental components of the industry and firm effects on economic profitability and tests the hypotheses that conform to the conventional wisdom of relative rates of persistence. A persistence partitioning model is fitted to a new data set, and the results show that the incremental effects of industry on economic profitability persist longer than the incremental effects of the firm. In other words, the long-term competitive advantages of firms in China are more predictable and sustainable based on industry influences compared to firm factors. These findings support the predictions of industrial organization economics, and provide some implications for corporate strategy.     

The economic evolution of democracy

Using a variant of the Ramsey growth model, we explore the relationships between economic growth and the emergence of democracy. We argue that democracy acts as a commitment device to economic reforms favored by an elite under the threat of rebellion. Consistent with British economic history we model liberalizing reforms of the labor market as the mechanism by which the elite redistribute resources to the poor. We find that if democracy emerges it is preceded by a period of growth, however the emergence of democracy will only encourage further growth if the redistributions it entails do not significantly hamper capital accumulation.      

城市化对经济增长推动作用的经济学分析

经过国内理论界20多年来的研究与争论,已经基本上就我国存在低度城市化的问题方面达成了共识.但是对于城市化对经济增长的作用机理研究得仍然不够.文章以城市化对经济增长有推动作用这个已经达成共识的结论为阐述的观点,以宏观经济学、微观经济学的理论为基础,力图达到对城市化对于经济增长推动的作用机理进行系统的阐述.     

Retraction Note: Prediction of economic growth by extreme learning approach based on science and technology transfer

Quality & Quantity - The Editor-in-Chief has retracted this article (Karaniki? et al. 2016) because validity of the content of this article cannot be verified. This article showed evidence...     

Estimation of the most influential science and technology factors for economic growth forecasting by soft computing technique

Economic growth may be developed on the basis on combination of different factors. In this investigation was analyzed the economic growth forecasting based on the different factors. The main goal was to analyze the influence of science and technology factors on the economic growth. Gross domestic product (GDP) was used as economic growth indicator. The method of adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was applied to the data in order to select the most influential factors for the GDP growth rate forecasting. Ten inputs are considered: research and development (R&D) expenditure in GDP, scientific and technical journal articles, patent applications for nonresidents, patent applications for residents, trademark applications for nonresidents, trademark applications for residents, total trademark applications, researchers in R&D, technicians in R&D and high-technology exports. The ANFIS process for variable selection was also implemented in order to detect the predominant factors affecting the forecasting of GDP growth rate.     

The economic value of patent portfolios

Patent holders may choose to protect innovations with single patents or to develop portfolios of multiple, related patents. We propose a decision‐making model in which patent holders allocate resources to either expanding the number of related patents or investing in higher value of patents in the portfolio. We estimate the derived value equation using portfolio value data from an inventor survey at the level of individual inventions rather than the firm as a whole. We find that investments in individual inventions exhibit diminishing returns, and that a good part of the value of a portfolio depends on adding new patented inventions. Also, while diminishing returns to individual inventions are stable across subsamples, the returns to portfolio size vary between complex and discrete industries, and between inventions that are science‐based or driven by customer information. When firms seek to strengthen appropriability, the returns to an increase of portfolio size are not different from the sample average. Thus, a higher number of inventions in a portfolio may reflect both stronger appropriability via patents and genuine creation of value.     

The economic principles of pension provision

To examine pensions Samuelson's overlapping-generations model is generally used: its basic workings are set out here for an open economy. Pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pensions are attractive when the rate of population growth exceeds the real rate of interest; then all generations are better off for the existence of the pension. The only cost is the income tax distortion. Once the rate of growth falls below the real interest rate, only the cost is left and it is better for the state to'fund'its pensions. If the state borrows to finance the transition to a funded system, it substitutes explicit debt for unfunded liabilities, which leaves its balance sheet unchanged; this avoids the problem of the existing young generation'paying twice'for its pensions.     

The analysis of seasonal economic models

Many important insights can be obtained about economic relationships and seasonality when an economic model contains an explicit specification of the mechanism generating seasonality in the endogenous variables. Unfortunately, determining the correct structure is difficult. The purpose of this paper is to outline a methodology for the analysis of seasonal economic models. In particular, several ways of incorporating seasonality into a structural model are considered and the implications for the behavior of the endogenous variables are derived. Finally, a rational expectations version of Cagan's money demand function is analyzed to demonstrate some of the important aspects of the techniques and seasonal economic models in general.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Prediction of economic growth by extreme learning approach based on science and technology transfer

The purpose of this research is to develop and apply the extreme learning machine (ELM) to forecast gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate. Economic growth may be developed on the basis on combination of different factors. In this investigation was analyzed the economic growth prediction based on the science and technology transfer. The main goal was to analyze the influence of number of granted European patents on the economic growth by field of technology. GDP was used as economic growth indicator. The ELM results are compared with genetic programming (GP) and artificial neural network (ANN). The reliability of the computational models were accessed based on simulation results and using several statistical indicators. Coefficient of determination for ELM method is 0.9841, for ANN method it is 0.7956 and for the GP method it is 0.7561. Based upon simulation results, it is demonstrated that ELM can be utilized effectively in applications of GDP forecasting.

     

The economic evaluation of operator training

Companies tend to make changes in their training methods in an economic vacuum: little attention is paid to evaluating the benefits to be derived from a change in relation to the costs involved. In this article operator training is treated as an investment, and the cost of the investment and the returns on the investment are analysed to demonstrate how individual firms can approach the question of evaluating the benefits of training. There may even be cases, the author points out, where the ‘sitting next to Nellie’ approach is the best economic proposition.