Discrete Hours Labour Supply Modelling: Specification, Estimation and Simulation

Abstract.  The assumption behind discrete hours labour supply modelling is that utility‐maximising individuals choose from a relatively small number of hours levels, rather than being able to vary hours worked continuously. Such models are becoming widely used in view of their substantial advantages, compared with a continuous hours approach, when estimating and their role in tax policy microsimulation. This paper provides an introduction to the basic analytics of discrete hours labour supply modelling. Special attention is given to model specification, maximum likelihood estimation and microsimulation of tax reforms. The analysis is at each stage illustrated by the use of numerical examples. At the end, an empirical example of a hypothetical policy change to the social security system is given to illustrate the role of discrete hours microsimulation in the analysis of tax and transfer policy changes.     

Extent of diversification and company performance: The New Zealand evidence

This paper confirms the relative superiority of related-diversification in terms of the financial performance of New Zealand companies, companies which are much smaller and less diverse than those which normally feature in this literature. To facilitate comparisons with other studies, financial performance is measured in three ways: return on equity; return on assets; and sales growth. Other independent variables controlled for are company size; risk; leverage; technological opportunity; and industry concentration. The effective rates of protection afforded manufacturing industries (export subsidies and import tariffs) are also confirmed as having had some positive bearing on company performance.     

1999-2009国外物流园区文献综述

分析了近十年国外对物流园区的研究,结果表明,研究主要集中于物流园区的选址和规模、物流园区配送路线的优化选择、物流网络的设计和优化等方面.其中,定量研究较为多见,多集中于物流园区的选址和规模的确定、有效物流网络的设计和优化.定性研究较少,但已比较成熟,多集中于园区的发展战略、功能设计及政府行为等方面.     

1999-2009国外物流园区文献综述

分析了近十年国外对物流园区的研究,结果表明,研究主要集中于物流园区的选址和规模、物流园区配送路线的优化选择、物流网络的设计和优化等方面。其中,定量研究较为多见,多集中于物流园区的选址和规模的确定、有效物流网络的设计和优化。定性研究较少,但已比较成熟,多集中于园区的发展战略、功能设计及政府行为等方面。     

Rankings Methodology for International Comparisons of Institutions and Individuals: an Application to Economics in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract.  The objectives of this paper are threefold. First, we critically survey and analyse the different methodologies that have been adopted in the rankings literature. Second, using journal articles included in the ECONLIT database and on the basis of two criteria – one based on citations and the other on perceptions of journal quality, we rank economics teaching departments in Australia and New Zealand for 1988–2002 and 1996–2002 and for individual academic economists for the periods 1988–2002, 1988–1995 and 1996–2002. Furthermore, we identify individual star performers and recognize them in a designated 'Hall of Fame' for 1988–2002. Third, our methodology enables us to make international comparisons on total and per capita bases. Previous multi-country ranking studies in economics do not rank economics departments. They provide rankings based on total publications in economics in universities regardless of whether the economists are in the economics departments or in other departments. Thus, no rankings on per capita bases are provided. We correct this shortcoming by providing total and per capita rankings and analysing the correlations between total and per capita rankings. This is the first study to examine whether the size of the economics department matters with regard to productivity.     

The long-run and short-run effects of exchange-rate volatility on exports: The case of Australia and New Zealand

In this paper we obtain and interpret estimates of the short- and long-run influence of exchange-rate volatility (or risk) on the volume of trade of two Pacific-Basin Countries, Australia and New Zealand, in the generalized floating exchange-rate period. For each country, a unique, theoretically consistent long-run function is estimated, as well as a short-run dynamic demand function that is formally superior to a number of previous estimates.     

State employees' unions and administrative reforms: comparisons between Sweden,Norway, Australia and New Zealand

This paper discusses how methodological challenges and problems were handled in a study of how state employees' unions responded to, had an impact on and were affected by new public management reforms in Sweden, Norway, Australia and New Zealand. In the study, particular emphasis was put on institutional characteristics of the unions. The paper clarifies the operational measures of this concept (construct validity) and their causal relationship to the actions and outcomes of the reform processes (internal validity). Two other aspects of research design (external validity and reliability) are also discussed. Finally, some more general lessons learned from the study are indicated.     

The effects of age discrimination legislation on workplace practice: a New Zealand case study

This article explores the effects of the legal prohibition of age discrimination in New Zealand, based on a survey of the recruiting practices of individual organisations. Its findings indicate that many firms continue to breach the law through a continued emphasis on age during the recruitment process. Age‐related information is directly or indirectly requested from a sizeable percentage of job applicants. The findings highlight the importance of the socio‐economic context in which legislation is enacted. As with unwritten rules, the impact of law in a specific context is inevitably circumscribed by the deeply embedded nature of practice, especially if enforcement is lax.     

基于AGENT的装备供应链仿真模型设计与实现

通过计算机对装备供应链系统进行仿真,可以获得许多宝贵的数据,减少相应的风险,增强决策的科学性,提高战时装备供应保障的科学化、现代化水平。文章构建了基于Agent的装备供应链仿真模型,利用Swarm仿真平台描述了Agent仿真模型,并运用Java语言,实现了Swarm平台下的Agent的交互。     

The impact of welfare reform on labour supply behaviour in New Zealand

New Zealand recently implemented sweeping reforms to its social welfare programmes by cutting benefits and tightening eligibility criteria. Regression analysis is used in this paper to isolate the effects of these reforms on several dimensions of labour supply behaviour. Overseas research in this area has often been hindered by the difficulty of boiling complex work disincentives down to a manageable set of regressors, or the lack of true variation in programme parameters. The structure of the benefit system and the nature of the reforms in New Zealand provide a unique opportunity to identify these behavioural responses. Quarterly random samples of individuals between 1985:4 and 1995:4 are used to isolate the effects of these policies, while controlling for a wide variety of other influences. This study finds compelling evidence that these reforms increased aggregate labour supply in this country.     

The Influence of Ownership Structure on Risk Management: Evidence from New Zealand State Owned Enterprises

This paper examines how recent theories on risk management apply to government owned organizations. We argue that, compared to publicly listed firms, government owned organizations have a lower need for risk management since stakeholders are likely to rely on implicit guarantees arising from government ownership. We test this proposition empirically and find that government owned organizations make less use of financial derivatives to reduce the costs of financial distress and agency conflicts. In general our findings provide strong support for the modern theories of risk management.     

Workforce Reduction In Australia and New Zealand: A Research Note

Relatively few studies have examined the incidence of permanent workforce reduction and factors related to workforce reduction behaviour. In this study, such issues are addressed using data from more than 1,450 organisations in Australia and New Zealand. On average, about 36 per cent of respondents reported a permanent reduction of the workforce over the past three years (with an average reduction of almost 19 per cent of the workforce). Several factors, including product or service demand, pressure to focus on short-term profits or budget goals, a major change in organisational strategy, the quality of the relationship between the employer and employees, the organisation's expressed commitment to job security and the age of the organisation, distinguished organisations that had or had not engaged in a permanent employee retrenchment.     

Subsidiary initiatives and subsidiary autonomy: Evidence from New Zealand and Brazil

The paper uses evidence from a developed and a developing economy (New Zealand and Brazil) to study the consequence of multinational subsidiary initiative taking for subsidiary autonomy. Initiative taking and autonomy are known to increase the likelihood of a subsidiary continuing to grow and develop. Uncertainty remains as to whether subsidiaries acquire or lose autonomy as they engage in initiatives partly as the willingness to pursue initiatives can be viewed positively or negatively by the parent company. By using cross-country data and distinguishing three types of initiative according to the scope of their potential impact (internal, local and global) the study provides a basis for examining this topic that improves on evidence from a single country or single initiative study. Data from 200 multinational subsidiaries in New Zealand and 172 in Brazil are gathered for analysis. As well as examining the overall relationship between initiative taking and autonomy the study presents the first evidence on this topic for subsidiaries in New Zealand and Brazil. The overall conclusion is that subsidiary initiative taking is likely to increase subsidiary autonomy but the affect over autonomy is dependent upon the type of initiative that the subsidiary undertakes: subsidiary autonomy is more likely to increase as a result of a local market initiative than a global or internal market initiative.     

Ecological Fallacy and Covariates: New Insights based on Multilevel Modelling of Individual Data

The paper provides a new and more explicit formulation of the assumptions needed by the ordinary ecological regression to provide unbiased estimates and clarifies why violations of these assumptions will affect any method of ecological inference. Empirical evidence is obtained by showing that estimates provided by three main ecological inference methods are heavily biased when compared with multilevel logistic regression applied to a unique set of individual data on voting behaviour. The main findings of our paper have two important implications that can be extended to all situations where the assumptions needed to apply ecological inference are violated in the data: (i) only ecological inference methods that allow one to model the effect of covariates have a chance to produce unbiased estimates, and (ii) there are certain data generating mechanisms producing a kind of bias in ecological estimates that cannot be corrected by modelling the effect of covariates.