Gender and labor retrenchment in Chinese state owned enterprises: Investigation using firm-level panel data

In the late 1990s, China's state-owned enterprises (SOEs) underwent dramatic labor retrenchment, drawing considerable attention to how women fared relative to men during the retrenchment process. However, almost all the existing studies on the subject rely on individual-level data. In this paper, we study the gender patterns of SOE labor retrenchment using a unique enterprise-level dataset for the period from 1995 to 2001. We find that disproportionately large share of discharge was borne by female workers and that female discharge rates were more sensitive to output growth than male discharge rates. Further, estimating dynamic labor demand equations by gender, we find that female employment was more sensitive to negative output shocks experienced by enterprises than male employment but less sensitive to positive output shocks. Further, we find that sensitivity of female employment to output was greater for reformed than non-reformed enterprises and for male-intensive than female-intensive sectors. These results provide new insights into the gender patterns of employment adjustment of Chinese SOEs to output shocks during the retrenchment period.     

The demand for labor in Caribbean community MDCs

This article presents a comparative analysis of labor market demand in the three major economies of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) in the period since 1970. The regression analysis indicates that the manufacturing sectors in Barbados and Jamaica were more responsive to changing domestic and international market conditions than the agricultural sectors, or than the Trinidad & Tobago manufacturing sector. Other important conclusions based on specifications at the aggregate level are that the real wage explained labor demand only in Jamaica, and that there was a secular increase in the demand for labor in both Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, even after wages and output were controlled for. Taken in conjunction with the other findings for Trinidad & Tobago, we conclude that there is a need to focus on other sectors as important employers of labor in the period under analysis.     

广东省劳动力市场分割与供求关系的实证分析

通过分析广东省劳动力供求状况,发现存在"供不应求"和"失业"并存的现象。那么是什么因素导致人才没有在各行业间自由流动呢?劳动力市场分割理论对此现象作出了解释,本文根据原因提出了相应的建议。     

The problems of labor supply and labor demand adjustment on the Russian labor market

This paper considers problems and specifics of labor demand and supply relations in the Russian labor market; it identifies and analyzes the underlying factors. It discusses the possibilities of inclusion in the analysis of structural characteristics of labor demand and supply and the dynamics of wages in the process of their conciliation in the Russian labor market, and it presents estimates of its basic parameters.     

Upgrading labor quality,structural change,and economic development

Economic development involves fundamental structural changes that move resources from agriculture to industry, from low value-added to high value-added activities. In this paper, this basic theme in development economics is formalized in a simple model, comparable to the neoclassical model of trade and growth. In the proposed model, free trade realizes static efficiency of comparative advantage but tends to preserve the status quo in which the South trades primarily commodities for manufacturers with the North. Through facilitating accumulation of human capital, the trade policy that protects domestic high value-added activities may raise welfare in the long run.     

Tariff and exchange rate pass-through for Chinese exports: A firm-level analysis across customs regimes

We examine whether a firm's import content share differentially affects the degree of tariff and exchange rate pass-through into its export prices. Our pricing-to-market model suggests that a firm's import content share negatively affects the degree of exchange rate pass-through but does not affect the degree of tariff pass-through. Using firm-level data for Chinese exporting firms during the period 2000–2006, we find evidence of an almost complete exchange rate pass-through. As expected, when we distinguish firms by their trade regime, processing-trade firms, especially pure-assembly firms which tend to have higher import-content share, have a lower exchange rate pass-through than ordinary trade firms. We find no evidence that the tariff pass-through differs across the various trade regimes.     

Foreign investment and bribery: A firm-level analysis of corruption in Vietnam

Among the concerns faced by countries pondering the costs and benefits of greater economic openness to international capital flows is the worry that new and powerful external actors will exert a corrupting influence on the domestic economy. In this paper, we use a novel empirical strategy, drawn from research in experimental psychology, to test the linkage between foreign direct investment (FDI) and corruption. The prevailing literature has produced confused and contradictory results on this vital relationship due to errors in their measurement of corruption which are correlated with FDI inflows. When a less biased operationalization is employed, we find clear evidence of corruption during both registration and procurement procedures in Vietnam. The prevalence of corruption, however, is not associated with inflows of FDI. On the contrary, one measure of economic openness appears to be the most important driver of reductions in Vietnamese corruption: the wave of domestic legislation, which accompanied the country's bilateral trade liberalization agreement with the United States (US-BTA), significantly reduced bribery during business registration.     

Relationship regarding the demand for labor between domestic temporary and foreign workers: Korean case

With the progress of globalization, South Korea, one of the emerging industrial countries, has recently witnessed a sharp increase in the number of enterprises that employ foreigners. However, there are only a limited number of studies on the influence that such an increase has had on the labor market in the Republic of Korea. Thus, using ‘Workplace Panel Survey’ data surveyed by the Korea Labor Institute (KLI), this paper examines the relationship concerning the labor demand of an establishment between domestic temporary and foreign workers. Analysis using a bivariate Tobit model shows that a typical Korean firm attempts to employ domestic temporary and foreign workers simultaneously. Further, the empirical analysis found that any establishment that is relatively newly established and has difficulty in recruiting domestic workers hires foreign workers, but there is no evidence that establishments hire foreign workers rather than domestic temporary workers to save on the production cost.     

Exports, investment and firm-level sales volatility

This paper presents a dynamic model of risk-averse producers??decision to invest in physical capital and to export. The model features irreversible investment, no capital markets and fixed and sunk costs to export. Several features of the distribution of investment rates and export participation patterns observed in firm-level data are closely matched in a calibration exercise. Counterfactual experiments show that large adjustments in total sales associated with entry into foreign markets increase the volatility of total sales for exporting firms.     

Characteristics of labor market in Serbia - View on the labor demand on Belgrade and Banat labor markets

The labor market in Serbia is characterized by one of the highest unemployment rates of the working population （aged 15 to 64）. Also, it is notified that the unemployed level of the qualification is very low and that there isn＇t enough space in the existing formal educational system for any new introductions （such as prequalification courses, or lifelong educational concepts）. The research on the labor demand was aimed at assessing the state of the labor markets in the selected regions and at analyzing short-term demand for labor force. The analysis establishes： Which sectors of local/regional economy are being developed and are likely to require additional labor force in the next six months; which types of jobs are likely to be in demand in the aforementioned sectors; which additional knowledge and skills are needed for such occupations. The applied methodology also enabled to analyze information on vulnerable groups of unemployed, namely persons with disturbing factors in employment and the young unemployed of up to 24 years of age. In order to gather reliable data at regional level, a research was conducted on a stratified sample covering 1400 enterprises and some of the statistical labor market indicators were established indicating particularities of the labor markets in the surveyed regions -- Belgrade and Banat.     

The determinants of FTA use in Southeast Asia: A firm-level analysis

The spread of free trade agreements (FTAs) in Southeast Asia has ignited a debate about their impact on enterprises including the business costs from the Asian ‘noodle bowl’ effect. This paper undertakes a comparative and firm-level analysis of the determinants of FTA use in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. The likelihood of firms using important ASEAN+1 FTAs (e.g. the ASEAN-China FTA, the ASEAN-Japan FTA and ASEAN-Korea FTA) is positively associated with acquiring knowledge about FTAs, building technological capabilities, and membership in industrial clusters. Non-use of FTAs is explained by a lack of information about FTAs and the absence of FTAs with major trading partners. Key policy implications are the need to improve business support for FTAs, to conclude FTAs with major trading partners, and to create a database on FTA preference use.     

Fixed costs,markups and concentration in Eswatini (Swaziland): A firm-level analysis of panel data

This paper documents the evolution of markups and concentration, detects causality between firm churning and markups/concentration, and determines the impact of fixed costs on markups. It relies on production data of Eswatini during 1994–2007 to estimate markups using the production approach. It finds elasticities, markups and concentration to be comparable with other findings elsewhere. Although no causality is found from a regression of markups/concentration to entry/exit dynamics an increase in productivity within high capital stock industries and in fixed costs raises average markups. Further research will focus on markup state dependence, unobserved heterogeneity, and endogenous regime switching to enhance understanding of markup pricing.     

Investment incentives and the relative demand for skilled labor: Evidence from accelerated depreciation policies in China

This study evaluates the effects of China's 2014 and 2015 accelerated depreciation policies on the relative demand of firms for skilled labor. We develop a simple model to explore how the policies affect the relative demand of firms for skilled labor and illustrate the roles of financing constraints and tax compliance in mediating the policy effects. We then employ a firm-level dataset from China's A-share listed companies and use a quasi-experimental design to examine the model predictions. We find that the policies significantly increase the relative demand of firms for skilled labor. The channels underlying the policy effects are that the policies generate additional cash flow for firms, stimulate investment and, thus, raise the demand of firms for skilled labor with the presence of capital–skill complementarity. We also find that the positive effects of the policies on the relative demand for skilled labor are primarily significant for firms with strong financing constraints and high tax compliance. Moreover, we document the positive effects of the policies on R&D investment, firm value added, productivity, workers' benefits, and corporate social responsibility performance, which further corroborate our main results.     

Correction to: Services versus goods trade: a firm-level comparison

Review of World Economics - In the original publication of the paper, the below lines were wrongly publishes on page 22 as: Over that period Belgian firms were obliged to declare to the NBB any...     

A long-term technological forecast for Russia: Key analysis results

The main phases in the development of methodological recommendations for long-term technological forecasting [1], including definitions used in long-term sci-tech forecasts, and the results of a pilot survey are briefly described.     

Export characteristics and output volatility: comparative firm-level evidence for CEE countries

The literature shows that openness to trade improves long-term growth but also that it may increase exposure to high output volatility. In this vein, our paper investigates whether exporting and export diversification at the firm level have an effect on the output volatility of firms. We use large representative firm-level databases from Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia over the last boom–bust cycle in 2004–2012. The results confirm that exporting is related to higher volatility at the firm level. There is also evidence that this effect increased during the Great Recession due to the large negative shocks in export markets. We find that export diversification mitigates volatility only in some cases. Exporting more products or serving more markets does not necessarily result in higher stability of firm sales.