非正式组织对员工工作绩效影响的研究

非正式组织广泛存在于企业内部且对现代企业发挥着越来越重要的影响,在我国非正式组织的作用还未受到重视。本文从非正式组织结构特征入手,运用社会网络分析方法,在员工个体层次围绕非正式组织网络结构对员工的绩效产生影响。以案例研究的方式,运用Ucinet和SPSS软件对数据进行分析,研究结果发现非正式组织咨询网络中心性对任务绩效、人际促进、关系奉献有显著正向影响,非正式组织友谊网络中心性对任务绩效、人际促进有显著正向影响。     

Impact of Credit Accessibility on the Earnings of Self-employed Businesses in India

The study assesses the impact of credit accessibility on the earnings of self-employed small businesses in India. Using unincorporated non-agricultural enterprises survey data provided by National Survey Sample Organisation (NSSO) on the Indian economy for the year 2015-16, the paper shows that access to credit augments earnings of self-employed businesses. The paper also separately shows the impact of credit availed from formal and informal lending agencies on self-employment earnings. Interestingly, we observe that both these lending agencies have a positive impact, even though the terms and conditions are not favourable in the informal market. Based on our findings we suggest for creation of informal-formal credit linkage programme akin to that of SHG bank linkage programme in which enterprises that do not possess accessibility to formal sources due to absence of collateral can also get formal credits through informal lenders at favourable terms and conditions.     

The meaning of “social safety nets”

In Southeast Asia, the issue of “social safety nets” (SSNs) has emerged more prominently since the financial crisis. Despite the increased interest in social safety nets, there is still considerable confusion among scholars and national and international organizations regarding the use and meaning of the term. This article considers the different definitions of the term—particularly as it was used during the Asian Financial Crisis—and to attempt to clarify its meaning and proper use.The safety net analogy is drawn from high-wire walkers who are protected by a safety net if they fall. The safety net prevents any walker who falls—unexpectedly or not—from hitting the floor and incurring catastrophic injuries. Following this line of reasoning, it is not surprising to learn that some organizations and scholars use the term SSN such that it encompasses private and public mechanisms that assist individuals in maintaining a minimum level of consumption.The term “social safety net” (SSN) began to be used by Bretton Woods’ institutions in connection with structural adjustment programs related to their lending programs. Developing countries introduced SSNs to mitigate the social impact of structural adjustment measures on specific low-income groups. They were initially formulated to serve three objectives: poverty alleviation, to make adjustment programs more politically acceptable, and institutional reform. During the Asian Financial Crisis, there was a great deal of confusion regarding the content and consequent identification of SSN programs.Public SSN programs can be classified into formal and informal safety nets. Formal and informal safety nets are, generally, distinguished by law enforcement: formal safety nets are those which legally guarantee individuals access to economic or social support whereas informal safety nets provide likelihood of support to individuals to assure them of attaining or remaining above the designated minimum standard of living but with no legal guarantee.Informal SSNs can be divided into private and public ones. Examples of private informal SSNs include transfers from family members, friends, neighbors and community members and institutions, including NGOs, while those of public informal SSNs refer to the support which individuals can hope for from the government, through programs which generate assets or employment, transfer income, or provide basic social services, as a means of helping affected individuals from falling below the designated minimum standard of living. The difference between formal and informal public SSNs is whether there exists a formal legal support of the assistance.The article has provided more discussion on the definitions of SSN used by the World Bank, ESCAP, ILO and TDRI.In conclusion, the authors note that the tremendous variation in the use of the term invites confusion and makes it virtually useless as a technical concept. The very nature of the metaphor invokes a vision of a large net that encompass a number of different types of programs. In many cases it is not even possible to list specific programs that are included, as the particular forms of these programs could, of course, vary with place, time and circumstances. Complicating things further, the term is sometimes used in a very narrow sense. Given the low probability that usage of the term will ever be standardized, economists and national/international organizations might be well served by avoiding the term completely and instead using its component parts.     

Veld products and income generation in the southern Cape Strandveld

Only marginal farming activities take place in the Cape Strandveld area south of Alber‐tinia. While income from farming and wages are low, coloured families in the district are still making a living from traditional, informal occupations. Over a period of one year the activities of roughly fifty coloured families in the Albertinia Strandveld area were studied. These people being mostly illiterate, no formal questionnaire was used, but the author directly participated in their various activities and asked informal questions about their occupations. A questionnaire was sent out by Du Preez (1988) to about 150 white landowners in the area and we discussed these findings in relation to the informal sector study. Activities included thatch reed cutting, mole catching, honey collecting, aloe juice tapping, firewood cutting, hunting, fishing, breaking in horses, picking wild flowers and collecting sour figs. Higher incomes would be generated by improved techniques and expanded markets, but these activities should not be absorbed into the modern and formal economic system.     

双重环境规制能否促进工业研发努力？——基于价值链视角

选用2008—2018年中国工业省级面板数据，基于价值链视角，分析正式环境规制和非正式环境规制对工业研发努力的影响。研究结果显示：正式环境规制对研发投入、新产品开发的影响呈显著倒“U”形，对专利产出的影响不显著；非正式环境规制仅对研发投入的影响呈显著“U”形，对专利产出及新产品开发的影响均不显著。经进一步研究发现，正式环境规制与非正式环境规制在影响研发投入的过程中还存在着显著互补效应，意味着在双重环境规制管制下，中国更易于实现科技、经济与环境的共同进步。     

Corruption and Entrepreneurship: Cross-Country Evidence from Formal and Informal Sectors

While the impact of institutional quality on formal entrepreneurial activity has been well documented in the literature, whether and to what extent corruption influences entrepreneurship in the informal sector is less forthcoming. In this article, we analyze the effect of corruption on entrepreneurship in the formal and informal sectors. Using unique cross-country data on formal and informal entrepreneurship, we find that corruption deters entrepreneurship in the formal sector and promotes informal entrepreneurship. These results remain robust even after conducting a series of sensitivity analyses.     

A panel data analysis of the formal-informal sector labour market linkages in South Africa

This study explores the labour market linkages between the informal and formal sectors, using the first four waves of the National Income Dynamics Study data. The main focus is on three groups of employed: worked in the formal sector in all waves; worked in the informal sector in all waves; moved between the two sectors across the waves. Only 27% of informal sector workers in wave 1 transitioned to the formal sector in wave 4; 38% remained in the informal sector while 33% had their status changed to either inactive or unemployed. The econometric analysis indicates that older and more educated individuals living in urban areas and coming from households with fewer old-age grant recipients are significantly more likely to work in the formal sector, whereas more educated white males are associated with a significantly greater likelihood of transitioning from informal to formal sector employment.     

The link between credit markets and self-employment choice among households in rural China

Our paper examines how credit markets operate through wealth to influence households’ entrepreneurial choices. Our results show that policy-led bank branch withdrawal in rural China has a significant negative impact on credit availability to rural households, though unexpectedly the effect is felt more strongly in informal than formal credit markets. Furthermore, we observe that self-employment is impeded by reductions in wealth associated with credit contraction. Policies which provide more and better formal financial services to rural households are predicted to increase the flow of credit, through both formal and informal channels, thereby supporting accumulation, diversification, and economic growth.     

Rural Development Finance in Vietnam: A Microeconometric Analysis of Household Surveys

This study examines (a) the rural household participation in the Vietnamese rural credit market, (b) the behavior of a formal lender in response to the credit needs of households, and (c) the impact of credit. The rural credit market in Vietnam is quite segmented. The formal sector specializes in lending for production purposes whereas the informal sector's lending is quite diverse. We show that rural households are rational in deciding which sources to ask for a particular kind of loan. Reputation, the dependency ratio of households, and the amount of credit applied for by the household are identified as the determinants of credit rationing by the bank. Credit is shown to have a significant impact on household production.     

The effects of formal and informal child care on the Mother's labor supply—Evidence from urban China

The women's labor force participation rate in China has declined considerably during the last twenty years in urban China. Since the reforms started in the mid-1990s, publicly subsidized child care programs have decreased, and private care centers have increased. This might have increased the reliance of working mothers on informal child care and reduced their reliance on formal child care. Using post-reform data from the Project on Rural–Urban Migration in China (RUMiC) of 2008, I estimate the effects of formal and informal child care on the labor supply of mothers of young children. A recursive model with instrumental variables is employed to account for endogeneity. I find a positive and significant impact of informal child care in the form of grandchild care on the mother's labor force participation, while no significant effect of formal child care in the form of kindergartens or paid nannies. Considering recent tendencies in China to postpone retirement, one possible method to maintain mothers' presence in the labor market could be to reinforce the availability and affordability of formal child care.²³     

Recession and the informal sector in South Africa

Despite the recent avalanche of writings investigating the informal sector, scant consideration has been accorded to the impact of an economic recession upon the growth and complexion of the informal sector.The object of this paper is to reflect upon the likely consequences of economic recession upon the South African informal sector in light of the extant international literature. Two different sets of processes are identified as impacting upon the growth and composition of the informal sector. The first suggests that the growth of the informal sector is the consequence of the lack of expansion of the formal sector. The second argues that much of the expansion in the informal sector is directly linked to its integration with formal sector enterprises. Under recessionary conditions, it is suggested that the growth of the informal sector may occur as a refuge from destitution but that the complexion of the informal economy will shift and be dominated by activities of a more ‘socially unacceptable’ nature.     

Is Informal Job Experience of Youth Undermining their Labor-Market Prospects in Transition Economies?

The objective of the paper is to investigate if previous informal employment experience of youth affects later labor-market outcomes in transition economies. We consider the effects on employment, decent job and wages. Some theories suggest that previous informal job experience may extend informality later and negatively impact decent employment and wages, while others argue that informal jobs may provide training, networks and working attitudes to young workers hence improving their formal employment and wage potential. We rely on the newly-produced School to Work Transition Surveys for seven transition economies of Southeast Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Our results robustly suggest that early informality of youth is negative for the later labor-market outcomes. However, for the wage, there is limited evidence that the negative effect potentially turns positive for long informal job experiences. The negative effect of informal job on later outcomes is stronger for females, while any differences between the two regions of transition economies are neither systematic nor robust.     

FORMAL–INFORMAL ECONOMY LINKAGES AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa's high unemployment and small informal economy has been attributed to barriers to entry in informal labour markets. We develop a general equilibrium model based on a typology of informal activities that captures formal/informal linkages in product and labour markets. Simulations reveal that trade liberalisation increases formal employment, hurts informal producers, and favours informal traders and may explain the dominance of traders instead of producers. Wage subsidies also raise employment but further heighten competition for informal producers. Cash transfers favour informal employment, albeit with a fiscal burden. Results confirm the role of formal/informal linkages and product markets in explaining policy outcomes.     

Determinants of pollution abatement in developing countries: Evidence from South and Southeast Asia

Developing countries, pa?ticularly those in Asia, are fast adopting industrial pollution control standards similar to those in developed countries. Formal regulation has been greatly hampered, however, by the absence of clear and legally binding regulations; limited institutional capacity; lack of appropriate equipment and trained personnel; and inadequate information on emissions. One would predict highly pollution-intensive production under such conditions. Our research, however, has uncovered strongly contradictory evidence. Despite weak or nonexistent formal regulation, there are many clean plants in the developing countries of South and Southeast Asia. Of course, there are also many plants which are among the world's most serious polluters. What explains such extreme interplant variation? This paper reviews evidence drawn from three empirical studies of plant-level abatement practices conducted 1992–1994.The analyses test the importance of plant characteristics, economic considerations and external pressure in determining environmental performance. The results consistently show that pollution intensity is negatively associated with scale, productive efficiency, and the use of new process technology. It is strongly and positively associated with public ownership, but foreign ownership has no significant effect once other plant characteristics are taken into account. Among external sources of pressure, community action, or informal regulation, emerges as a clear source of interplant differences in all three studies. The results suggest that local income and education are powerful predictors of the effectiveness of informal regulation. They also show that existing formal regulation has measurably beneficial effects, even when it is quite weakly developed.     

Informal trading in Soweto

Informal sector trading is re‐examined five years after initial investigations in Soweto. Structural changes in informal trading are manifestations of rising unemployment in the formal economy. More important is the widening differentiation between business enterprises at the apex of the informal spectrum with substantial turnover and employment opportunities through to most informal enterprises operating at ‘survival’ levels. These results confirm the domination of the laws of supply and demand in informal trading and emphasize the free market character of the sector.     

The Impact of Social Safety Net Programs on Household Savings in Colombia

This paper seeks to understand and quantify how social safety net programs impact household savings in developing countries, considering the case of Colombia using two complementary approaches. The first approach explores how the health regime affects savings in the country. The second evaluates the impact on savings of familias en acción, a major antipoverty conditional cash transfer program. The results suggest that the savings of informal households are higher than those of formal households, because, with little incentive to enter the formal job market, informal households need to cover slightly greater non‐covered risks. The results also show that familias en acción recipients save more than non‐recipients because recipients favorably adjust their expenditure patterns.     

Counting the Invisible Workforce: The Case of Homebased Workers

This paper illustrates the limitations of offical statistics on the informal sector with the case of homebased women workers: this is, women who work from their homes as own-account producers or subcontract workers. After noting that official statistics in most countries do not classify homebased subcontract work as such, the authors review the available data on both types of homebased work. The available evidence suggests that homebased work is an important source of employment throughout the world, especially for women, and that homebased workers comprise a significant share of the workforce in key export industries. The evidence also shows that the informal sector often has direct ties to the formal sector and is growth-promoting. The case of homebased workers, the authors conclude, illustrates the need for improved informal sector statistics as well as a better understanding of the impact of policies on the informal sector and the contribution of the informal sector to national economies.     

The Effects of Civic Education on Political Culture: Evidence from Zambia

Little empirical research has been done on civic education in new democracies. This article appraises, through a comparison of results from two social surveys, the effects on political culture of several civic education programs conducted principally by nongovernmental organizations in Zambia. Among its findings are that: civic education has observable positive effects, but mainly among privileged elements in society; civic education has consistently greater impact on citizens' knowledge and values than on their political behavior; and, with the possible exception of informal methods such as drama shows, means have yet to be devised to induce citizens to become active voters.     

我国民间融资的风险性研究

民间融资是对供给不足的正规金融的一种有益补充,已成为我国金融市场的重要组成部分。然而,受经济下行和政策调控的影响,民间融资风险日益显现,并引发了一系列经济社会问题。本文结合我国当前的民间融资现状,对其风险性问题进行研究,并结合国际经验探索民间融资规范化发展的措施。     

社会网络与城镇居民的正规和非正规借贷:来自国家统计局城调队样本的证据

基于来自国家统计局的16个省市2006-2014年的城镇住户面板数据,本文研究社会网络对城镇家庭的正规借款和非正规借款是否都具有因果效应。在利用工具变量解决了社会网络的内生性问题后,本文的研究结果显示:社会网络对家庭借款之和、正规借款和非正规借款均具有显著的正向影响;此外,与正规借款相比,社会网络对非正规借款的影响更大。本文的实证结果表明,社会网络能够发挥社会担保作用并增加家庭的借款金额,这一结果有助于我们理解社会网络作为一种非正规制度在发展中国家城市信贷市场中的积极作用,同时还意味着中国城镇金融市场有继续完善的空间。