The effect of search frictions on wages

We aim to test whether the degree of informational search frictions in the labor market has a negative effect on wages. In a range of equilibrium search models of the labor market, this effect is predicted to be negative. Nevertheless, this has never been tested. We perform tests with matched worker–firm data. The worker data are informative on individual wages and labor market transitions, and this allows for estimation of the degree of search frictions. The firm data are informative on labor productivity. This allows us to investigate how the mean difference between labor productivity and wages in a market depends on the degree of frictions and other determinants, and to assess the quantitative relevance of frictions for wages.     

Has agricultural labor restructuring improved agricultural labor productivity in China? A decomposition approach

This paper presents a framework for analyzing the changes in agricultural labor productivity with regards to the structural, land intensity, and land productivity effects. This approach allows for the residual-free decomposition of data from different levels of aggregation. The logarithmic mean Divisia index was applied for the analysis and a data envelopment analysis model was constructed to identify potential gains in agricultural labor productivity due to the optimization of input use and output production. The proposed approach was applied to the case of China over the period of 1997–2017. Province-level data were used to identify the major driving factors behind agricultural labor productivity change. Land productivity change appeared to be the major source of agricultural labor productivity gains in China. The structural change was rather negligible, suggesting that the reallocation of the agricultural labor force did not add to the agricultural labor productivity growth in China. A frontier analysis indicated that agricultural labor productivity could increase by some 45% on average in case full technical efficiency is achieved.     

Capital,labor, and derived demand for information: Evidence from China

In this paper, information capital is considered as a separate input of production along with noninformation capital and labor. The substitution possibility among information capital, noninformation capital and labor has been estimated by nonlinear iterative algorithm using Chinese data for 1995–2017. The empirical results from the study imply that estimates of Chinese input substitution degree and productivity are underestimated without including information capital as an input separate from noninformation capital. When information capital and labor are combined, the contribution ratio of labor force may increase. Information capital interacts with noninformation capital and labor to promote economic development and production efficiency.     

Consumption and labor supply

We present a new econometric model of aggregate demand and labor supply for the United States. We also analyze the allocation full wealth among time periods for households distinguished by a variety of demographic characteristics. The model is estimated using micro-level data from the Consumer Expenditure Surveys supplemented with price information obtained from the Consumer Price Index. An important feature of our approach is that aggregate demands and labor supply can be represented in closed form while accounting for the substantial heterogeneity in behavior that is found in household-level data. As a result, we are able to explain the patterns of aggregate demand and labor supply in the data despite using a parametrically parsimonious specification.     

Europeanization or globalization? Transnational wage bargaining and the distribution of activity in European labor markets

This paper investigates the impact of globalization on labor markets, in terms of wage inflation and the distribution of activity across regions. Specifically, we study the effects of aggregation in the labor markets on the distribution of employment and inflation pressures, where there are differences in market structures and transmission mechanisms underpinned by relatively immobile labor. To demonstrate these ideas, we take the European experience as a “laboratory” to show what can be expected from globalization in the labor markets in practice. Using models of wage leadership vs. locational competition, we examine the extent and strength of aggregation effects on labor market costs using a sample of data from 1983 to 2007 which covers the period of the creation of the Euro. We find that the aggregation effect has decreased significantly since the start of EMU, improving the trade-off between inflation and unemployment. At the same time, while Germany played an important role in the run-up to EMU in terms of wage leader, its role has now decreased and been replaced by globalization forces. This implies increased locational competition in terms of wage formation. We demonstrate this with the emerging role of the US as the benchmark for wage setting in Europe.     

The China effect: Evidence from data at firm level in Thailand

This study investigates how competition with Chinese imports affects firms in Thailand. Using World Bank data on Thailand and United Nations trade data from 2003 to 2006, the empirical results show that there is no significant impact of Chinese import competition on employment, wages, or labor income share. However, further checks show that for firms with lower productivity, the impact on employment and labor income share is more likely to be negative. The impact of Chinese import competition on profit margins is significantly positive. Considering the impact on labor income share and profit margins, we conclude that because of Chinese import competition, income distribution possibly goes in disfavor of labor. Our study shows that the impact of Chinese import competition on the skilled labor ratio is positive and significant. This result suggests that Thai firms are on the path to skill upgrading as a result of Chinese import competition, which is helpful for Thailand’s long-run economic growth. As firms with low productivity are more likely to be negatively affected by Chinese import competition, improving productivity is still an efficient way to counter such competition.     

Labor market analysis through transformations and robust multivariate models

The work presents a robust approach to labor share analysis. The estimate of labor share presents various complexities related to the nature of the data sets to be analyzed. Typically, labor share is evaluated by using discriminant analysis and linear or generalized linear models, that do not take into account the presence of possible outliers. Moreover, the variables to be considered are often characterized by a high dimensional structure. The proposed approach has the objective of improving the estimation of the model using robust multivariate regression techniques and data transformation.     

Empirical labor search: A survey

This paper surveys the existing empirical research that uses search theory to empirically analyze labor supply questions in a structural framework, using data on individual labor market transitions and durations, wages, and individual characteristics. The starting points of the literature are the Mincerian earnings function, Heckman's classic selection model, and dynamic optimization theory. We develop a general framework for the labor market where the search for a job involves dynamic decision making under uncertainty. It can be specialized to be in agreement with most published research using labor search models. We discuss estimation, policy evaluation with the estimated model, equilibrium model versions, and the decomposition of wage variation into factors due to heterogeneity of various model determinants as well as search frictions themselves. We summarize the main empirical conclusions.     

Decision rules to specify the extent of division of labor

At least since Adam Smith, it has been generally accepted in economics and organization theory that for large volumes of production, division of labor reduces unit costs. Despite this, there does not seem to be any clear statement of why the division of labor produces the results attributed to it. Attempts to explain these results with the gains in productivity due to specialization do not seem to have much analytical proof or empirical verification, in particular because specialization is just a counterpart of division of labor. Operational rules to specify how large the division of labor should be in order to be beneficial do not seem to be available, either. The object of this paper is to analyse these questions in a way that could help in the solution of real problems.     

Efficient employment of cohorts of labor in the U.S. economy: An illustration of a method

This paper presents a model for the analysis of efficient labor force participation in the U.S. economy. Ridge regression estimates of the elasticities of cohorts of labor, classified by sex and occupation, are used in conjunction with wage data to illustrate the derivation of efficient allocation of labor cohorts in five economic sectors. These efficient constructs are compared with actual census data for 1960 and 1970. The results, while tentative, show a trend toward more efficient utilization of labor and greater participation by women in the work force.     

Intangible investment in people and productivity

Organizational activity, information and communication technology work, and research and development (R&D) can be classified as work that creates intangible capital. We measure the returns to these three types of labor input by accounting for differences in their productivity compared with other labor inputs using Finnish firm-level data from 1998 to 2008. We apply a novel idea to use hiring as one proxy for productivity and demand shocks. We find that organizational workers increase total factor productivity and improve the profitability of high-productivity firms. R&D workers account for a large share of intangible capital; however, the returns to R&D are low. Investments in organizational competence are more likely to result in more rapid productivity growth. Firms with performance-related pay or domestically owned firms with extensive foreign activities have been among the highest performers with respect to the use of organizational work.     

The Traditional Industrial Sector in Developing Countries: An Update on Its Role and Functioning

A bstract . In the theory of urban labor markets in less developed countries , levels of traditional industrial sector incomes, are a key determinant of modern sector skilled wages (directly through the external labor market) and unskilled wages (indirectly through operations of internal labor markets ). Data on traditional sector incomes for 40 urban areas are assembled from a variety of sources; the quality of these data and needs for future data collection are critically appraised. The data are then used to conduct a preliminary test of the labor market model. In general, the predictions of the model are supported by these tests     

The work disincentive effects of the disability insurance program in the 1990s

In this paper we evaluate the work disincentive effects of the disability insurance (DI) program during the 1990s using comparison group and regression-discontinuity methods. The latter approach exploits a particular feature of the DI eligibility determination process to estimate the program's impact on labor supply for an important subset of DI applicants. Using merged survey-administrative data, we find that during the 1990s the labor force participation rate of DI beneficiaries would have been at most 20 percentage points higher had none received benefits. In addition, we find even smaller labor supply responses for the subset of ‘marginal’ applicants whose disability determination is based on vocational factors.     

Disability and the labor force participation of older men in Canada

I use a latent variable model to estimate the effect of disability status on the labor force participation of older men in Canada, with data from the National Population Health Survey. The estimates from this paper indicate that disability status has a large negative effect on the labor force participation of older Canadian males. It is difficult to compare these estimates with previous Canadian estimates because of differences in methodology and data. However, my estimates appear to be larger than those from US data. Some of the implications of these estimates for disability policy are also discussed.     

Barriers to employee rights: Gender,selection, and the labor process

This article applies a labor process analysis to the issue of employment rights in the particular context of gender inequality and unlawful discrimination in the recruitment process. It criticizes conventional perspectives on employee rights for their failure to examine critically managerial power and prerogative and its implications for gender inequality. The article outlines two particular labor process theories of gender divisions and inequality. In exploring the strengths and weaknesses of these more critical perspectives, the article highlights the analytical significance that they ascribe to power asymmetries in the labor process and labor market. Building on this perspective, the analysis then presents empirical data on gender discrimination in the selection practices of contemporary UK organizations. The research material reveals how gender discrimination can be reproduced, rationalized, and resisted. These empirical findings are theorized through a combined labor process analysis of power, knowledge, and identity in recruitment practices. We conclude that labor process analysis facilitates our understanding of the deep-seated barriers that continue to impede the protection of employee rights in workplace practices.     

Urban disamenities and the measure of economic welfare

A labor market model is used to estimate elasticities between various disamenity factors of urban areas and the wage in those areas. The results are used to calculate a correction to the personal income (PI) data for use in the construction of an index to be used as a measure of economic welfare. The labor supply equation of the model includes some population-related variables which Tobin and Nordhaus have hypothesized represent disamenities of urban living. The labor demand equation is derived from a production function which includes a measure of agglomeration economies. A two-stage least-squares regression analysis provides results which indicate that the hypothesized factors are actually amenity factors. The resulting correction to the personal income data is thus an addition: Economic welfare is higher than that indicated by the PI statistics.     

Effects of Educational Expenditures on Regional Inequality in the Social Quality of Life

A bstract . Earlier studies by Liu on Quality of Life (QOL) indicators have pointed out the problems of concentration interregional inequality among the fifty states in U.S.A. Noting that the interregional inequality problem has been gradually alleviated over the past two decades, this paper attempts to provide some rudimentary explanations about this converging phenomenon through a labor market adjusting process towards social, economic and spatial equilibrium. Published state data and QOL indicators developed by Liu for 1960, 1970 and 1978 tend to support the hypothesis that investment in human resources , especially through improved elementary and secondary education , would enhance social mobility which would in turn improve labor and capital productivity. The reduced regional inequality in economic QOL seemed to be more a response than a cause when compared to that in social QOL, because variations in educational expenditures were found to be more significantly related to the social QOL indicators than to the economic ones.     

The longitudinal effect of HRM effectiveness and dynamic innovation performance on organizational performance in Taiwan

This longitudinal study examined whether HRM effectiveness and dynamic innovation performance increase the level and growth rate of organizational performance. In 2002 we sent questionnaires to the top 1,000 manufacturing companies in Taiwan, and 181 valid questionnaires were returned. Otherwise, innovation and organizational performance between 2002 and 2005 were measured by research intensity and labor productivity. Latent growth curve modeling methodology was used to analyze the panel data over the 4-year period. Our results indicated that there was significant individual variability in terms of the intercept and slope factors for research intensity and labor productivity. HRM effectiveness was found to be a significant predictor of the intercept and slope factors of labor productivity. Initially, research intensity had a significant impact on the initial status of labor productivity, and an increasing rate of research intensity could significantly affect the growth rate of labor productivity.     

Inter-city wage differentials and the value of air quality

This paper proposes a method of valuing air quality based on differences in wages among cities. Using an urban location model it is shown that the supply of labor to any city increases with the real wage and with air quality in the business district. If individuals have log-linear utility functions then the value at home and at work of an equal proportionate reduction in pollution throughout the city can be computed from the coefficients of the labor supply function. The computations are illustrated for one-digit labor supply functions estimated from 1970 Census data.     

江苏劳动争议案件数量的灰色预测及启示

以2000～2009年江苏省劳动争议受理案件数据为依据,运用灰色系统理论,建立灰色GM(1,1)主模型和GM(1,1)残差模型,对江苏省劳动争议受理案件时间序列进行了拟合、分析与预测。通过实证分析表明,GM(1,1)残差模型的拟合程度较高,是一种有效的劳动争议数量预测算法,模型预测结果可为劳动关系管理和劳动争议处理提供有利的理论依据。