Earnings, Schooling and Social Capital of Cooperative Managers

Abstract ** : This paper estimates a human capital model for co‐operative managers and compares the results with the social capital model, based on a questionnaire distributed in Portugal in 2003. The study disentangles the relative contributions of the two competing theories of earnings: the human capital and social capital theories, as applied to co‐operative managers. We conclude that co‐operative managers' earnings are a function of both theories. Policy implications are derived .     

Membership has its privileges: the effect of social capital and neighbourhood characteristics on the earnings of microfinance borrowers

In this paper we examine the determinants of self-employment success for microcredit borrowers. Theories of social capital and neighbourhood effects are integrated in an attempt to account for earnings differentials among a unique sample of microfinance borrowers. We posit that social capital – social relations that facilitate individual action – is essential for microentrepreneurial success. Based on a survey and data collected by the authors, it is demonstrated that social capital is a positive determinant of self-employment earnings. The role that neighbourhoods play in fostering social capital and improving microentrepreneurial performance are also highlighted. JEL classification: J23, O17, Z13     

Human capital values and returns: Bounds implied by earnings and asset returns data

We provide theory for calculating bounds on both the value of an individual?s human capital and the return on an individual?s human capital, given knowledge of the process governing earnings and financial asset returns. We calculate bounds using U.S. data on male earnings and financial asset returns. The large idiosyncratic component of earnings risk implies that bounds on values and returns are quite loose. However, when aggregate shocks are the only source of earnings risk, both bounds are tight.     

Analysing wage differentials when workers maximize the return to human capital investment

The analysis of the determinants of differences in wages across workers has traditionally relied on the estimation of average earnings functions. In this article, we propose a new theoretical model where it is the workers who decide the amount they wish to invest in human capital, taking into account the costs of acquiring those skills, for the purpose of maximizing earnings. In this model, both human capital and marginal productivity are likely to be influenced by the individual’s (unobserved) characteristics such as ability or motivation, potentially giving rise to endogeneity problems. In this context, the empirical implementation of our theoretical model allows us, under certain assumptions, to obtain consistent estimates even under the assumption of endogeneity. We present an empirical application to the education sector using data from the Spanish Structure of Earnings Survey 2010. Our results show that females and workers in the private education sector face more difficulties in achieving their maximum potential wage.     

Human capital accumulation: Evidence from immigrants in low-income countries

This paper offers new evidence on the theory of human capital accumulation. The current findings in developed countries have documented that immigrants' earnings growth exceeds that of natives and that immigrants upgrade their occupations over time. Three possible explanations for these observations are suggested in the literature: 1) immigrants accumulate more human capital than natives, 2) immigrants are not able to fully transfer their skills, so over time, they restore the value of source-country human capital, and 3) immigrants are more productive than natives because they are positively selected on ability. This study investigates the labor market outcomes of immigrants in low-income countries and finds that immigrants earn more than comparable natives and work in better-paid occupations. Over time the gap in earnings and occupational distribution between immigrants and natives narrows. This observation is more consistent with the predictions of human capital accumulation theory than with skill transferability and selection theories.     

Earnings functions: beyond human capital

Taking a short-run view of the labour market, where individuals with given levels of education have to be matched with jobs differing in level of complexity and difficulty, wages are related to education and job levels. In a sample of some 13 000 observations, controlling for age, experience and sex, a model emphasizing both sides of the allocation process is favoured over the simple human capital view that ignores allocation once education is taken care of. It is claimed that the long-run human capital model can fruitfully be expanded with this short-run allocation structure. The empirical results measure the differences in earnings for individuals with given education working at different job levels, and shows them to be substantial. The relevance of adding job levels to the explanatory variables is illustrated with the case of female earnings discrimination and with differences in age–earnings profiles between general and vocational education.     

Social capital and social economics

The “discovery” of social capital in the early 1990s led to an upsurge of research into the economic impact of social cohesion and governmental effectiveness. This paper outlines key developments in the social capital literature over the past 13 years. It then examines theory and evidence of the links between social cohesion, quality of governance, economic performance and human welfare. The literature indicates that social capital makes a measurable contribution to economic development and overall wellbeing, particularly in developing countries. Partly in response to this emerging body of evidence, there has been increased interest in the application of community development principles to economic development initiatives. This paper argues that the advent of social capital theory represents a partial convergence between social economics and mainstream economics, and signifies an increased acceptance that economic activity cannot be meaningfully “disembedded” from social and political context.     

Human capital and economic growth in Spanish regions

Modern economic growth theory has emphasized on the human capital effects on economic growth. In this case, the externalities from a better education could enhance economic growth process and facilitate the progress in different regional areas. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the effects of human capital on economic growth process by taking into account the case of Spanish regions. The authors examine whether a better education process and social capital can improve the economic growth process in such area and if it can explain the differences in per capita GDP existing in those regions. The paper uses data from Spanish Statistical Institute and from different institutes of the European Union. The Castilla La Mancha Regional Government has provided financial support for the Project PDI-02-025.     

Social capital and social economics

The “discovery” of social capital in the early 1990s led to an upsurge of research into the economic impact of social cohesion and governmental effectiveness. This paper outlines key developments in the social capital literature over the past 13 years. It then examines theory and evidence of the links between social cohesion, quality of governance, economic performance and human welfare. The literature indicates that social capital makes a measurable contribution to economic development and overall wellbeing, particularly in developing countries. Partly in response to this emerging body of evidence, there has been increased interest in the application of community development principles to economic development initiatives. This paper argues that the advent of social capital theory represents a partial convergence between social economics and mainstream economics, and signifies an increased acceptance that economic activity cannot be meaningfully “disembedded” from social and political context.     

作为人力资本、公共产品和制度的语言:语言经济学的一个基本分析框架

本文从人力资本、公共产品和制度的角度分析论证了语言的经济性质,提出了语言经济学的三个命题:语言是一种人力资本;语言是一种公共产品;语言是一种制度。作为人力资本,语言是决定劳动力市场就业及人们劳动收入的重要因素之一,与社会经济活动和人们的经济地位密切相关;作为公共产品,语言本身就可以直接影响到语言政策的选择与制定;作为制度,语言不仅对交易成本产生影响,还影响着其他制度安排的效率。就现有研究而言,围绕命题一的研究已经是语言经济学中非常成熟的一个领域,而围绕命题二、命题三的研究虽然刚刚起步,但前景极为广阔,都是语言经济学亟待研究和值得深入研究的内容。有理由认为,语言经济学的后续研究大体上可以以这三个命题为支撑,或是建立在其基础之上,或是围绕着它们而展开。从这个意义上说,它们可以构成语言经济学的一个基本分析框架。     

Gender differences in social capital investment: Theory and evidence

This paper analyses individual social capital investment by extending the investment model of Glaeser et al. (2002) to allow for differing types of social capital. A dynamic solution to the individual's maximisation problem illustrates differences in social capital investment dependent on the conversion factor of investment. An empirical section finds that females invest more and derive greater wellbeing from this type of social capital investment; consistent with a higher conversion factor. The findings have implications for the work–life balance policies within firms and provide another explanation for gender differences in earnings.     

Allocation and the earnings function

This paper stresses the view that earnings differentials should be interpreted in the light of allocation in the labor market. A model is developed that acknowledges the difference between individual levels of characteristics and the levels of such characteristics required in the job. It is applied to data sets for the Netherlands, with education as the most important variable. Neither the individual's education nor the requirements of the job alone are sufficient to determine earnings: they should be considered jointly. The earnings function containing allocation thus proves superior to the function derived from either human capital theory or from segmented labor market theory.     

Lifetime Earnings, Discount Rate, Ability and the Demand for Post–compulsory Education in Men in England and Wales

Human capital theory suggests educational investments are made based on expected returns over the lifetime. Most other work in this field, particularly using British data, is based on demand models estimated in reduced form, with no earnings measures, or crudely constructed earnings measures, based on one or two earnings observations per individual.
We present a structural model of demand for educational investment which includes estimates of earnings paths for educational options as determinants of educational choice. This provides us with directly interpretable parameter estimates. The discount rate is also determined within our demand model.
Ability controlled earnings profiles are estimated by matching individuals from the General Household Survey to individuals in similar occupations from the National Child Development Survey (NCDS).
Our results show that expected earnings profiles vary according to observed ability and educational choice. Results from the demand model show that expected lifetime earnings have a significant impact on educational choice.
Other socio–demographic factors, particularly social class, also exhibit significant influences on the education decision. We estimate the discount rate to be lower than reported in other studies.     

The classical roots of the Austrian theory of capital and entrepreneurship

The paper deals with the continuities and discontinuities between some classical, Austrian and neo-Austrian authors with regard first to the theory of capital and then to the theory of entrepreneurship. Part I focuses on the elements of continuity between the classical and the Austrian theory of capital. These elements have been singled out by dealing first with the distinction between individual and national capital; and then with the difference between the resulting circulating-fixed capital and free-invested capital distinctions in the light, first, of the concept of roundaboutness and, then, of the method of vertical integration. Part II focuses on the elements of continuity between the Austrian theory of individual behaviour and the classical theory of national wealth. The distinctions between logical and historical time and between economics of time and economics in time are used to assess the links between the theory of capital as developed by the classics and Böhm-Bawerk, on the one hand, and the theory of entrepreneurship as developed by the neo-Austrians, on the other.     

A structural model of human capital and manufacturing sector change

The relationship between manufacturing job losses per capita, changes in manufacturing earnings per worker, and human capital investment is examined empirically at the level of nearly 3,000 U.S. counties over the period 1980–90. Hypotheses tested address the questions of whether the sectoral composition of the local economy (in this case with an emphasis on manufacturing) affects per worker earnings growth and investment in human capital, and whether investment in human capital in turn affects the economy's sectoral composition and earnings growth. The simultaneous equations estimation reveals direct and indirect effects of initial levels of the endogenous variables on their change during the 1980s. These effects are compared with comprehensive effects obtained using a reduced form regression.Research underlying this paper was funded in part under the National Research Initiative, Competitive Grants Program of USDA/ERS (Grant no. 93-37401-9367). Neither this agency nor the University of Kentucky is responsible for views expressed here.     

An analysis of capital gains tax-induced earnings management

Since 1974, there have been four changes in the corporate tax rate on net capital gains. In each instance a firm had an incentive to alter its capital gains taking in order to maximize its after-tax cash flows. This paper presents a longitudinal analysis of firms' responses to the four rate changes and in doing so provides additional evidence regarding tax-induced earnings management. Most studies analyze firms' responses to tax law change in one tax act (e.g., The Tax Reform Act of 1986), yet firm response to one act might not be the typical response. Results from this study confirm such a phenomenon. The results also provide additional evidence on the association of firm characteristics with tax-induced earnings management.     

Natural capital, subjective well-being, and the new welfare economics of sustainability: Some evidence from cross-country regressions

The measurement of natural capital and its management during the economic development process are important aspects of the capital approach to sustainable development. However, the assessment of social welfare in terms of genuine savings (or changes in total wealth per capita) is arguably too limited. This paper tries to make a case for the incorporation of subjective well-being measures in debates about sustainable development by exploring the macro-level relationship between subjective well-being and natural capital in a cross-country setting. It is tested whether natural capital per capita is correlated with subjective well-being in a sample of fifty-eight developed and developing countries, using natural capital data from the World Bank's Millennium Capital Assessment. Bivariate regressions indicate that it is. When multiple regression models are estimated that include (a) major country-level determinants of subjective well-being (GNI per capita, social capital, income distribution, unemployment, inflation), and (b) regional dummy variables for ex-Soviet Union and Latin American countries, the positive correlation remains. The role of data outliers is carefully explored, and the sensitivity of the results to the use of alternative subjective well-being measures (i.e. life satisfaction, happiness, and a combined life satisfaction and happiness index) is investigated. This does not change the nature of the results. The findings arguably strengthen the case for a ‘new welfare economics of sustainability’ that takes subjective well-being measures into account.     

资金时间价值理论在企业财务管理中的应用研究

资金具有价值累积的时间效应,是现代企业财务管理活动中应重点研究的对象。在此背景下介绍了资金时间价值理论的内涵,并从筹资和资金周转的角度研究了货币时间价值理论的应用情况,对于解决财务管理问题和企业发展问题具有重要的指导作用。     

Friedrich Benedikt Wilhelm Hermann on capital and profits *

The paper recalls some of the achievements of Friedrich Benedikt Wilhelm Hermann, a remarkable German economist whose work, once praised by authors such as von Thünen, Menger, Marshall and Schumpeter, has largely fallen into oblivion. The emphasis is on Hermann's contributions to the theory of capital, profits and relative prices. It is argued that Hermann's writing reflect a period of upheaval, both theoretically and socio-economically – a period of transition from classical to marginalist economics and one in which the ‘social question’ became ever more pressing. On the one hand Hermann contributed to the development of the classical theory of value and distribution, and on the other he prepared the ground for the replacement of that theory by marginal productivity theory.