Racial Differences in Returns to Educational Investment in the South

Abstract . The paper calculates rates of return to educational investment in the South and highlights differences in returns according to race and sex. The results of this investigation are compared with the results of earlier studies, and it appears that there has been a relative increase in the returns to Black education in the South. For most education levels, Blacks still earn lower returns than Whites, but the recent narrowing of earnings rates suggests that southern Blacks have made significant progress in their drive for equality of opportunity.     

WORKERS' COMPENSATION COSTS AND REGIONAL GROWTH DYNAMICS*

This paper attempts to gauge the effect of workplace regulation, against the background of other influences, on the increasing or decreasing competitive advantage of particular regions relative to the nation. We employ two measures of regional growth. The first is the differential rate of investment growth across states between 1978 and 1984. The results for output growth show that states both in the South and outside the South stand to lose their competitive edge in manufacturing activity from rising unit labor cost and energy cost. Rising taxes hurt industrial activity in the North but are not critical in the South. Agglomeration economies that benefit the North, apparently have no detrimental effect in the South. Rising workers' compensation cost is significant in the decline in southern competitiveness; it is not in the North. Both regions enhance their competitive position when local markets grow. For regional manufacturing investment, we find that unit labor cost and energy cost have no significant effect on the competitive position of states in the South. However, taxes and workers' compensation costs hurt investment opportunities in South.     

Black-White Economic Participation in Large U.S. Cities: Some Determinants of Their Differentials

Abstract . In this study some of the causes of the differentials in Black-White economic participation in large U.S. cities are examined. Specific concern is with unemployment and withdrawal from the labor force. The underlying hypothesis is that these differentials are a response to compositional differences between the two populations. The effects of region, economic structure, and segregation are also examined. A causal model is explicated in which these variables are inter related and their direct and indirect effects upon the dependent variables analyzed. The data suggest that, while having similar patterns of causes, labor force withdrawal and unemployment differentials are distinct phenomena. It also appears that a major portion of the variance in these variables is not accounted for by compositional differences between Blacks and Whites on socio-economic variables. However, educational and occupational differentiation have theoretically significant effects. It is argued that a major portion of the residual variance is due to discrimination, although there is no way of directly testing this hypothesis. An important negative finding is the apparently minor impact of residential segregation, suggesting that the physical isolation of Blacks is not a key factor in their limited economic participation. Finally, the data suggest that it is meaningful to regard assimilation as a multidimensional phenomenon whose dimensions are causally interrelated.     

Intra-regional wage variation and regional disparity in the relative earnings of blacks

Studies of the relative earnings of Blacks in the U.S. have found that the ratio of Black to White male earnings is lower in the South than in the rest of the U.S. In this paper, it is argued that the usual methods of estimating earnings ratios are distorted by the omission of variables that generate equalizing wage differences which are place-specific. The results support this contention. It is concluded that the Black-White earnings ratio is only about 2.5 percent lower in the South than outside the South. It is not significantly different for those with less than 16 years of work experience.     

The Nature of the Agrarian Land Question in the Republic of South Africa

Abstract . Most of the land in South Africa is dommnated by 4.5 million Whites. A tiny fraction of this key resource is designated for Black occupation in Black townships in White South Africa and for Black ownership in the ten “homelands.” Several interrelated factors account for the lop sided land distribution that exists in South Africa. The two most important factors are the removal of native occupants from the majority of the land, accomplished by early Dutch settlers, and legislative measures that were designed to guarantee a White controlled economy and foster economic development by assuring an abundant supply of disenfranchised and cheap black labor The extent of the inequality in the land distribution suggests that, from the viewpoint of ownership and control, Blacks were better off prior to 1652 when the first Dutch settlers arrived at the Cape.     

Effect of monetary policy shocks on the racial unemployment rates in the US

This study analyzes the effect of monetary policy shocks on the unemployment rate of different racial groups in the US, using data from 1969Q2 to 2015Q4. Employing a narrative approach to identify monetary policy shocks and local projections, we find that although an expansionary monetary shock affects White workers positively and significantly, the effect on Black workers is larger, and for Hispanic workers it is not statistically different from zero. These results are robust when considering unconventional monetary policy measures in the specification, and when exploring the impact of monetary policy on different genders and age groups. We also highlight how recession affects the transmission channel of monetary policy to the labor market for White and Hispanic workers. Finally, further extensions suggest that the Fed’s monetary policy is effective in reducing the racial unemployment gap, particularly between Whites and Blacks, and during economic booms.     

A mathematical approach to study and forecast racial groups interactions: deterministic modeling and scenario method

Globalization and migratory fluxes are increasing the ethnic and racial diversity within many countries. Therefore, describing social dynamics requires models that are apt to capture multi-groups interactions. Building on the assumption of a relationship between multi-racial dynamics and socioeconomic status (SES), we introduce an aggregate, contextual, and continuous index of SES accounting for measures of income, employment, expected life, and group numerosity. After, taking into account that groups’ SES assumes the form of a logit model, we propose a Lotka–Volterra system to study and forecast the interaction among racial groups. Last, we apply our methodology to describe the racial dynamics in the US society. In particular, we study the kind and the intensity of Asians–Blacks–Natives–Whites interactions in the US between 2002 and 2013. Moreover, we forecast the evolution of groups’ SES and how interracial relations will unfold between 2013 and 2018 and in three alternative stylized scenarios.

     

Family attachment and the decision to move by race

Blacks in the United States move less than Whites despite having many characteristics that are commonly associated with high geographical mobility such as high unemployment, low rate of home ownership, low marriage rate and settlement in areas where unemployment is high. We find that this puzzle can be explained by the effects of family ties—both nuclear and extended families—which we proxy using data from the University of Michigan's PSID. The results are robust to different specifications and estimation techniques.     

Disproportionate Black and Hispanic Unemployment in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: The Roles of Racial Inequality, Segregation and Discrimination in Male Joblessness

Abstract . Three common hypotheses about disproportionate Black and Hispanic unemployment among metropolitan males are tested, using data from the 1980 Population and the 1977 Economic Censuses. It is found that Black and Hispanic male unemployment is higher relative to that of Whites where jobs are most suburbanized and the minority population least so. This supports the view that segregation which separates minorities from job location elevates minority unemployment. It is also found that relative levels of Black, but not Hispanic, unemployment correlate positively to the minority percentage in metropolitan populations. This is consistent with the view that potential White gains from discrimination are greater where the Black (but not Hispanic) population is larger. Finally, both Blacks and Hispanics experience more disproportionate unemployment where their percentage of high school graduates is low relative to Whites, though this is less true for areas with larger Black populations. This suggests that job skill differentials also play some role in disproportionate minority unemployment.     

Performance Pay and Offshoring

In this paper, we construct a North–South general equilibrium model of offshoring, highlighting the nexus among endogenous effort‐based labor productivity and the structure of wages. Offshoring is modeled as international transfer of management practices and production techniques that allow Northern firms to design and implement performance compensation contracts. Performance–pay contracts address moral hazard issues stemming from production uncertainty and unobserved worker effort. We find that worker effort augments productivity and compensation of those workers assigned to more offshorable tasks. An increase in worker effort in the South, caused by a decline in offshoring costs, an increase in worker skill, or a decline in production uncertainty in the South, increases the range of offshored tasks and makes workers in the North and South better off. An increase in Southern labor force increases the range of offshored tasks, benefits workers in the North, and hurts workers in the South. International labor migration from low‐wage South to high‐wage North shrinks the range of offshored tasks, makes Northern workers worse off and Southern workers (emigrants and those left behind) better off. Higher worker effort in the North, caused by higher worker skills or lower degree of production uncertainty, decreases the range of offshored tasks and benefits workers in the North and South.     

The Self-concept of Black and White Women: The Influences Upon Its Formation of Welfare Dependency, Work Effort, Family Networks, and Illnesses

Abstract . The concept of “self-efficacy” is used to test the hypothesis that the negative self-concept of welfare recipients coniributes to long term psychological and material dependency on such assistance. Self-efficacy focuses on the extent to which people are able to produce and regulate events in their lives and is associated with self-imposed performance expectations. The extent to which the minority status which Blacks occupy in this society decreases self efficacy relative to Whites is examined, using information generated from structured interviews with 290 low income Black and White women. Operationalizing the concept of self-efficacy with appropriate controls for socioeconomic status, family composition and other factors results in finding no racial differences in sense of self-efficacy between Black and White women. Observed differences in patterns of receipt of public assistance are found to be more directly related to the persistence of structural barriers to upward mobility that have differential impacts on Blacks and Whites. Long term receipt of public assistance is found to adversely affect both self-worth and work orientation/perceived efficacy for all women.     

东盟对外FTA战略的有效性:基于商品竞争性与互补性的分析

以东盟与中国、澳大利亚新西兰、韩国、印度、日本5个代表性经济体的双边贸易为对象,通过贸易密集度指数、修正后显性比较优势指数、相对贸易竞争指数和贸易互补性指数的详细测算,分析比较这些经济体与东盟可贸易品的竞争优势及互补程度,以此对当前东盟对外自由贸易区战略作出科学评价,也为今后本地区区域经济一体化树立参照。     

基于主成分分析法的江苏省可持续发展综合评价研究

基于对可持续发展内涵的理解,从经济、社会、资源环境三个角度构建可持续发展综合评价指标体系。运用主成分分析的方法,考察江苏省13个省辖市的地区可持续发展水平。经研究表明,江苏省地区可持续发展水平与苏北、苏中、苏南的划分格局基本一致。     

International competitiveness of japanese manufacturing

This paper deals with the effect of corporate management practices on the efficiency of Japanese manufacturing and their international trade performance. It also looks at the relative cost position in comparison with the major industrialized countries. Such cost comparisons reflect changes in productivity performance, inflation and exchange rate changes that have been so marked that the United States has become the lowest-cost producer of manufactured products recently for the first time in the post-war period. Some effects of these changes on the trade and balance of payments positions of Japan in relation to North America are outlined. The paper includes data for selected years from 1950 to 1988 for real GDP per employed person, real output per hour for manufacturing, and unit labour costs for manufacturing for the United States, Japan, Canada and six of the major European countries.     

Inter-city wage differentials and intra-city workplace centralization

We explore the interaction of inter-city and intra-city wage differentials by occupation. The paper makes two main contributions. 1) We construct an occupation-specific index of workplace centralization that accounts for the difference between average employment density from the perspective of employees in each occupation and average employment density from the perspective of all employees. 2) We provide empirical evidence that relative wages of central to non-central occupations increase with city size, or equivalently, the elasticity of wages with respect to city size increases with occupational centrality. We conjecture that this empirical regularity arises because, as city size increases, workers in more central occupations face an increasingly less desirable locus of housing prices and commuting times relative to workers who have jobs in residential areas. The results are robust to the inclusion of individual-specific human capital variables and city-specific fixed effects.     

International trade,pollution, and economic structure: evidence on CO2 emissions for the North and the South

This study investigates the mechanics of international trade and CO₂ emissions in two blocs of countries (‘North’ and ‘South’) by analyzing data from the World Input–Output Database. We adapt the Miyazawa technique to estimate the linkages between international trade and the environment at a global scale. Therefore, this study is in line with the idea of highlighting the role of feedback effects as well as the nature and extent of extra-regional influences on an economy in response to an additional stimulus. This is a contribution that, to our best knowledge, has not yet appeared in the literature. Our results suggest that both the North and the South have become less pollution-intensive (technique effect) over the years. Interestingly and in contrast to much of the literature, we also find support to the hypothesis that the South has specialized in relatively more pollution-intensive activities (composition effect).     

Opportunity, Subculture and the Economic Performance of Urban Ethnic Groups

A bstract . An attempt is made to account for age-specific differences in economic performance among 14 ethnic groups living in the nation's nine largest metropolitan areas, by regression analysis of 1950 U.S. Census data. A large proportion of the variance in occupational structure, income, unemployment, and labor force status is accounted for by variations in urban opportunities, relative group size and the members' educational attainment. With the specified economic factors held constant, ethnic factors—nationality and nativity—are associated with residual differences in economic performance. These residual ethnic influences as well as ethnic differences in marital, educational, and labor force status suggest that differences in ethnic subculture have important economic consequences.     

城市群技术创新与经济增长效率的时空分异研究——以成都城市群为例

城市群区域协同发展格局对城市群整体创新绩效有着较为深刻的影响。本文基于协同共生的视角,以两阶段网络DEA为分析方法,以成都城市群为例,对城市群技术创新与经济增长两阶段动态效率进行实证分析,发现城市群技术创新与经济增长两阶段效率值的时空分异特征明显。时间上:在虹吸效应与涓滴效应的交互作用下,中心城市与成员城市的效率差呈现先扩大后缩小的趋势;空间上:呈现南北高,东西低的态势,并符合地理邻近、技术邻近以及制度邻近的发展规律。研究发现,经济增长产出阶段是创新效率提升的瓶颈,鉴于此,未来城市群发展需着力于政策协同、资源协同、空间协同,提高创新一体化程度,从而形成区域创新的整体规模效应。     

Understanding Urban Processes in Flint,Michigan: Approaching ‘Subaltern Urbanism’ Inductively

Ananya Roy introduces the concept ‘subaltern urbanism’ in her 2011 article ‘Slumdog Cities: Rethinking Subaltern Urbanism’. She challenges researchers to move beyond existing epistemological and methodological limits, and offers four concepts which, taken together, serve as a useful starting point for understanding and representing subaltern urban space. In this article I argue that instead of a deductive approach that begins with an a priori identification of slums as subaltern urban space, an inductive approach of identifying subaltern urban space would expand the concept and show that subaltern urbanism exists in the global North. I present original research to show that Flint, Michigan, can be considered subaltern urban space. In the final section of the article I argue that this inductive approach to subaltern urbanism can foster comparative research across the North‐South divide, and generate the transfer of knowledge from South to North.     

产业协同发展与城市全要素生产率——中国南北差异视角下的实证检验

制造业和生产性服务业的协同发展是中国经济提质增效的重要途径。使用2001-2018年的中国城市面板数据,测算了产业协同度,并考察了产业协同发展和全要素生产率的关系。结果表明:研究期内,中国城市整体及南方和北方的产业协同度呈现上升态势,但存在明显区域差异,北方的产业协同度低于南方;在南方和北方,产业协同发展可显著提升全要素生产率,影响全要素生产率的作用机制在南方和北方存在差异;学习机制、互补机制和竞争机制可通过促进技术进步和提高技术效率共同推动全要素生产率增长,但南方和北方的影响机制存在显著差异。最后从发挥市场机制、完善保障体系和加快北方地区发展等方面给出了对策建议。