Sources of crime in the state of Veracruz: The role of female labor force participation and wage inequality

Abstract

In recent years, crime has become a serious concern in Mexico as its increase has detrimentally affected government institutions and economic growth. There is considerable speculation among policy analysts about the causes of the increase in crime. Whereas some analysts attribute the increase to a rise in income inequality, others believe internal migration and a loss of morals are the roots of criminal behavior. This research shows that at least for the Mexican state of Veracruz, wage inequality and labor force participation have an important impact on crime. When gender is considered, however, the impact is more complicated than it seems. An increase in women's labor force participation decreases the overall number of alleged violent offenders. However, the number of alleged rapists and grievous bodily harm offenders increases as women's wage distribution improves. The results shed light on the gender dimensions of the economics of crime.     

A cross-cultural study of guanxi and auditor independence in two economies: evidence from China and the United States

This study examines the impact of guanxi on auditor independence in China and the U.S. Using panel data from 2012–2015 surveys, fixed-effects regression models are used to analyse survey data with observations drawn from a total of 1076 Big 4 and 1044 non-Big 4 auditor-years for Chinese auditors, and 1168 Big 4 and 1140 non-Big 4 auditor-years for the U.S. auditors. The results indicate that ‘guanxi with clients’ has a negative influence on perceptions of auditor independence for Chinese auditors, but not for the U.S. auditors. According to our findings, both groups agree that imposing regulations/code has a positive influence on perceptions of auditor independence. Gender has no influence on the perceived independence of either group. After controlling for social desirability bias, our results remain robust. Sensitivity analysis further increases the robustness of the findings. Our results provide empirical support for public interest theory and pose implications for Western multinational companies contemplating doing business in the Chinese economy. This investigation is particularly relevant in the wake of the rise of China as a global power. Regulators should consider the implications of this study when setting auditing guidelines and codes of ethics.     

Wage premium in the state sector and state‐owned enterprises: Econometric evidence from a transition country in times of austerity

This paper investigates the differences in the wage premium and compliance with the wage cut introduced in Serbia at the end of 2014, between two subsectors of the public sector: the state sector and state‐owned enterprises. Results show that before the austerity measures were introduced, the conditional wage premium was, on average, higher in state‐owned enterprises than in the state sector, with significant differences from the median to the top of the wage distribution. After the austerity measures were introduced, the wage differences between the subsectors deepened, due to lower compliance of state‐owned enterprises with the wage cut.