Impact of overtime regulations on wages and work hours

Exploiting an ambiguity in the criteria regarding which employees are exempt from overtime regulations in Japan, this paper used the longitudinal data of Japanese employees to examine whether overtime regulations have an impact on hourly wages and hours worked. We found that although the differences between the hourly wages of the exempt and non-exempt employees were negligible, the hours worked by exempt employees were longer, especially for non-university graduates during the recessionary period. We interpreted that the fixed-wage model, rather than the fixed-job model, was prevalent during the recession period, especially for workers with low bargaining power.     

Wages in Rail Markets: Deregulation,Mergers, and Changing Networks Characteristics

The Staggers Act of 1980 largely deregulated the Class 1 Railroad industry and has had profound effects on labor. Between 1978 and 1994, employment in the industry decreased by about 60%, while real wages (average compensation) increased by over 40%. Earlier research examined employment effects; in this article, we develop and estimate compensation effects using firm-level data. By using firm-level data, we are able to identify the effects of partial deregulation, an accompanying and massive consolidation movement, as well as changes in firm operating and network characteristics. Our estimates suggest that mergers contributed 5-15%, partial deregulation contributed about 20%, and changes in firm operating and network characteristics contributed 4-5% to the overall increase in wages.     

Who bears the burden of employer compliance with social security contributions? Evidence from Chinese firm level data

This article utilizes firm level audited data from Shanghai in 2002 and 2003 to examine the extent to which employers shift the burden of compliance with social security obligations back to employees in the form of lower wages. Results from a fixed effects panel model using data on a subset of the firms audited in both years found that 18.9% of the compliance cost was shifted back to employees in the form of lower wages. Separate two-stage least squares estimates with controls for firm size, ownership and industry type for 2002 and 2003 found that the incidence of social insurance contributions on employees increased across the two years. In 2002 the incidence of social insurance contributions on employees was 9.1% and in 2003 this increased to 33.8%. An explanation for the increase in the incidence on employees over the two years is that employer compliance improved in 2003 compared with 2002.     

数字经济背景下互联网的使用对民营企业员工性别工资差距的影响——基于员工受教育层次差异化特征的分析

基于2017年中国综合社会调查的民营企业员工数据,使用稳健最小二乘回归与Oaxaca分解法研究发现:互联网的使用将对未接受过教育以及仅接受过私塾扫盲班/小学教育的民营企业员工工资产生显著的负向影响;互联网的使用将对接受过初中及以上教育的民营企业员工工资产生显著的正向影响;随着民营企业员工受教育水平的提升,互联网的使用对民营企业女性员工工资的弹性影响远超男性;互联网的使用将扩大未接受过教育的民营企业女性员工与男性员工的工资差距;互联网的使用将缩小接受过私塾扫盲班/小学及以上教育的民营企业女性员工与男性员工的工资差距。据此提出,应加大公益互联网使用培训力度,以提升女性的互联网理性使用水平、加强清扫虚假网络平台以防止受教育层次较低女性误入歧途、鼓励女性自主接受多元化再教育以提升自身互联网理性使用水平等,以缩小民营企业员工性别工资差距。     

灵活用工对企业绩效、员工离职倾向的影响研究——基于河南省21家零售企业的实证分析

灵活用工是实现充分就业和企业目标的重要途径。文章通过对河南省21家零售企业的实证结果表明:内部数量灵活性与企业净资产收益率不存在显著相关关系,与员工离职倾向的关系有待进一步检验;外部数量灵活性、功能灵活性、工资灵活性和外部化灵活性有助于提升企业净资产收益率,其中功能灵活性、工资灵活性和外部化灵活性对员工离职倾向没有显著影响,外部数量灵活性既提高企业净资产收益率也增加员工离职倾向。因此实践中,企业要注重用工灵活性的优化组合,实现既提升企业绩效又降低员工离职倾向的双重目标。     

The Impact of Minimum Wages on Job Training: An Empirical Exploration with Establishment Data

Human capital theory suggests that workers may finance on-the-job training by accepting lower wages during the training period, Minimum wage laws could reduce job training, then, to the extent they prevent low-wage workers from offering sufficient wage cuts to finance training. Empirical findings on the relationship between minimum wages and job training have failed to reach a consensus. Previous research has relied primarily on survey data from individual workers that typically lack both detailed measures of job training and important information about the characteristics of firms. This study addresses the issue of minimum wages and on-the-job training with a unique employer survey. We find no evidence indicating that minimum wages reduce the average hours of training of trained employees and little to suggest that minimum wages reduce the percentage of workers receiving training.     

多个大股东、内部薪酬差距与并购效率

以2007—2019年中国上市公司为样本，考察多个大股东对并购效率的影响及内部薪酬差距的调节效应。研究发现：首先，存在多个大股东的上市公司能够在减少并购决策的同时提高并购绩效，实现了更高的并购效率，且多个大股东的监督越有力，并购效率越高；其次，考察内部薪酬差距在多个大股东与并购效率的调节作用，将股东、管理层、员工3个层面结合，结果表明内部薪酬差距抑制了多个大股东对并购效率的积极影响；最后，在市场化程度高的地区多个大股东更能提升并购效率。研究结果不仅从并购效率的角度丰富了多个大股东的经济影响，也对改善股权结构、优化薪酬设计及提高并购效率具有重要的参考意义。     

Union relevance in the Malaysian labour market

The study estimates the effect of union membership on workers' wages using individual‐level data from a survey conducted among employees in various sectors in Malaysia in 2012. Initial results show that union membership has a positive effect on wages. However, after controlling for endogeneity, union membership or the presence of a labour union within a firm is not statistically significant for individual wage levels. Because there is no trade union wage premium, the study suggests that the revival of labour union membership is not going to be an easy task.     

On the determinants of bonuses and basic wages in large Japanese firms

The profit-sharing model has attracted considerable attention as a hypothesis to explain wage flexibility and employment stability in Japan. This paper presents an alternative explanation of how bonuses and basic wages are determined in Japan, based on the efficiency wage hypothesis. In particular, we focus on the aspect that bonuses are paid to compensate employees for the intensity of work experienced during the last period, and basic wages are affected mainly by labor market conditions and are not firm-specific. We compare the two models, testing them for both industry aggregate data and firm microdata.     

Mergers, welfare, and concentration: Results from a model of stackelberg-cournot oligopoly

This paper explores the relationship between mergers, welfare, and concentration, using a two-stage oligopoly model that generalizes the Cournot and Stackelberg models. This model has been used to show that some profitable mergers raise welfare and that some welfare-lowering mergers are unprofitable. Based on this, one might conclude that policy designed to restrict mergers is unnecessary or even counterproductive. This present paper examines in greater detail the implications of this model and finds that a merger's effects depend not only on the reduction in the number of firms, but also on premerger and postmerger firm behavior. In fact, most mergers lower welfare, and many of these are profitable. Usually, but not always, changes in concentration and welfare are negatively related.     

Do Exporting Firms Pay Higher Wages? Evidence from Kenya's Manufacturing Sector

Abstract: When trade liberalization was first embarked on in Kenya some 20 years ago, a key argument against it was that it would reduce domestic wages, as exporting firms sought to remain competitive versus, for example, the low‐cost Asian countries. A counter argument was that manufactured exports require more elaborate design, supervision, packaging and handling, and thus a more educated labor force than production for the domestic market. To attract such skills, exporting firms would need to pay higher wages than non‐exporting ones. This paper uses data from Kenyan manufacturing to study the impact of trade liberalization on earnings, distinguishing between exporting and non‐exporting firms. In particular, it investigates whether exporting firms paid a wage‐premium to their employees. The study uses manufacturing firm survey data from a World Bank regional project. The study has three important findings: (1) There was a large and significant effect of exporting on wages in the first decade of trade liberalization. During the first half of the 1990s, workers in exporting firms earned up to 30 percent more than those engaged in non‐exporting firms. The results are robust even after controlling for individual and firm‐level characteristics such as employee demographics, productivity, firm location and occupation. (2) After a decade of trade liberalization, exporting ceased to be a significant determinant of wages in Kenyan manufacturing, after controlling for productivity and firm location. (3) During the 2000s, casual or irregular employment became a more common feature of exporting firms. The results suggest that while higher wages were important in attracting skilled labor to exporting firms at the beginning of trade liberalization in the 1990s, domestic competition has since reduced the wage premium. Cost cutting pressures are instead reflected in the substitution of casual and low wage labor for permanent and better educated labor and in increased automation.     

Let’s Not Stick Together: Anticipation of Cartel and Merger Control in The Netherlands

Does enforcement action by the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) in the case of cartels and mergers produce an anticipatory effect? We use surveys among firms and their advisers to test whether merger plans that may fail to gain clearance from the NMa are not notified and whether the possibility of detection helps to reduce the number of cartels. Our results indicate that enforcement action by the NMa has a preventive effect. Surveys among companies show that 5 % of the notified mergers were modified before notification to forestall possible objections from the NMa. Moreover, for every 100 notifications of mergers there are 13 proposed mergers that are later on abandoned due to merger control. Companies also take account of the Competition Act when drafting contracts, conducting negotiations and holding meetings. Our survey among lawyers and other advisers shows that for every sanction decision taken by the NMa there are almost 5 cases in which, unbeknown to the NMa, a prohibited act has been terminated or modified in response to advice on competition law.     

Migrants and urban wage: Evidence from China's internal migration

Using China's 2005 1% population survey, this paper examines the wage impact on urban workers of rural to urban migration. We find that, on average, migrants increase the wages of urban workers, with the effect being magnified for more skilled urban workers. This suggests that migrants with skills similar to those of urban workers may complement them. We explore the possible channels of these effects. From the supply perspective, we find that migration inflows accelerate the occupational upgrading of urban workers, especially for low- and medium-skilled workers. From a demand perspective, as the share of migrants in the urban labor force increases, the number and output of industrial firms also increase, and firms become more reliant on low-skilled workers. The more migrants in a city, the greater the available employees for industrial firms, particularly for low-skilled employees. However, the effects on high-skilled firms are much smaller or insignificant. In addition, we find that migrants have little impact on firms' capital-labor and capital-output ratios. This suggests that firms can expand through capital adjustments to absorb inexpensive migrants, which alleviates the possible negative impact of migrants on the urban labor market.     

员工参与与工资决定——基于企业工资集体协商的实证分析

本文利用在湖北企业职工收入分配调查中所得到的数据,运用对应分析方法研究企业开展工资集体协商对职工工资决定的影响。实证结果显示,尽管在政府推动下我国一些企业工资集体协商工作已开展起来了,并产生了一定的积极效应,但由于多数企业员工参与不够,真正平等意义上的工资集体协商制度还没有形成,因此,目前企业工资并非是由企业与员工双方平等协商共同决定的。本文最后对这一结果产生的原因做了进一步的分析,并提出应大力加强企业民主制度的建设,加大工资集体协商等相关制度的建设,并通过发挥各级劳动关系的协调作用,营造良好的氛围和社会环境,以促进企业职工工资决定机制的形成。     

Corporate Endowment Insurance Fee Reduction and Employee Wages: Evidence from China

To stimulate economic growth, the Chinese government implemented three consecutive policies between 2016 and 2019 to reduce the corporate endowment insurance contribution ratio (CEICR), the highest payment item for Chinese companies. Using China's CEICR reduction policies as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper evaluates the impact of corporate payment burden reduction on employee wages. Generally, reducing CEICR appears to prompt companies to increase employee wages. Corporate cash flow is a possible channel of influence. Moreover, the positive effect is found to be more pronounced in companies that are more labor intensive, performing better in labor payment compliance, and located in regions with higher pressure for elderly care. This paper offers evidence in favor of implementing CEICR reduction policies from the perspective of improving the well-being of employees.     

High benefits and low wages: Employees as monitor of management in SOEs

Employees do play a role in corporate governance as important stakeholders of modern enterprises. In the absence of financial and managerial labor markets in centrally planned economies (CPE), the owner of state enterprises (SOEs) has no effective mechanisms to discipline management. Therefore, the role of employees in corporate governance becomes much more important in SOEs than in the typical capitalist private firm. We posit that low wages and generous benefits in SOEs provide incentives for employees to monitor management. Other employment arrangements, especially lifetime job security and centralized wage scale, are also conducive to the monitoring of management by employees. A formal model shows that benefits tied to firm performance, designed properly, induce employees to monitor management. It also suggests that the existence of a market for managers tends to undermine this mechanism.     

Abnormal Accruals and Managerial Intent: Evidence from the Timing of Merger Announcements and Completions

We examine acquiring managers' opportunistic reporting behavior around stock‐for‐stock acquisitions. Using the timing of merger announcements and completions to infer managerial intent, we show that acquirers with the most inflated earnings tend to announce mergers on Fridays, and that they manage earnings several quarters before the merger announcement date. Friday announcers exhibit a stronger negative association between pre‐merger announcement abnormal accruals and post‐merger announcement market performance than non‐Friday announcers. This effect is driven mainly by mergers that are completed relatively quickly after they are announced. Overall, the evidence supports the notion that some acquiring managers inflate earnings prior to announcing the mergers, and time the merger announcements to exploit investor inattention.     

Prices and real wages in seventeenth‐century Madrid

This article focuses on the evolution of real wages earned by building labourers and craftsmen in Madrid during the seventeenth century. After a substantial rise brought about by the arrival of the Court in 1561, real wages experienced a remarkable fall from 1621–30 onwards. Our thesis is that the fiscal and monetary policies pursued by the Crown to fund its ambitious imperial policy exerted a clear influence on this decline. The currency manipulations of the low‐value petty coin (maravedí) drove serious losses in the real wages of building labourers and craftsmen between 1621 and 1680. In the years around 1665 the real wages of both groups had fallen below the levels of 1561–1600, and the indirect taxes levied by the Crown and the town council contributed to keeping real wages stagnant at around the low levels of 1665–80 between 1681 and 1700. Although this issue merits further research, it seems unlikely that building labourers and craftsmen could have offset the decline in their real wages through an increase in the number of hours worked or a rise in the number of work days.     

Exchange rate volatility and first-time entry by multinational firms

The model and related empirical examination in this paper demonstrate one reason why previous studies document both positive and negative correlations between exchange rate volatility and observed levels of foreign direct investment. Using a simple model of cross-border mergers and acquisitions, it argues that the source of the volatility is important in resolving the puzzle. An empirical analysis of mergers and acquisitions by individual firms reveal that first-time foreign direct investment is discouraged by monetary volatility originating from the source-country, but can be encouraged by monetary volatility originating in the host country, especially when compared to domestic investment or expansion by existing multinationals. The regressions also reveal a large and positive “euro effect” on the number of first-time cross-border mergers within the European Monetary Union, even when controlling for domestic merger activity.     

工作时间、工资与效率之辨

当前,加班成为企业员工普遍的生存方式,资本收益过分压低劳动报酬已成事实。决定生产率的关键因素是员工做出努力的程度和性质。由于人的工作努力程度具有不确定性,因而工作时间并不意味着工作效率;低工资并不意味着低成本,高工资也可以带来高效率。