Labour Shortage in Hong Kong: Causes,Consequences and Policies*

This paper addresses the issue of labour shortage in Hong Kong. Labour shortage is a secular phenomenon caused mainly by a stagnation in the growth of the labour force. The major long-term factors that explain this stagnation are a decline in fertility, a fall in the labour participation rate, a reduced intake of immigrants and a rising outflow of emigrants. Labour imposes a capacity constraint on the growth of the economy. This paper considers policies which may alleviate the supply constraint on the economy, including reducing emigration, importing labour and increasing immigration intake. These policies, which would lead to a faster expansion of the labour force, are evaluated and compared.     

劳资合股抑或让劳动值钱

中国总体小康的关键在于提升众多低端劳动者的收入水平和生活水平 ,要做到这点 ,笔者以为应先让劳动值钱 ,相应的对策和办法主要有 :一是通过系统的知识技能培训和人文的社区认同教化全面提升低端劳动者素质 ;二是建立强有力的多层次的工会系统 ;三是转变企业的经营思路和赢利     

The Determinants of Labour Supply and Demand in Irrigated Agriculture: A Case Study of the Gezira Scheme in Sudan*

Abstract: The objective of this study was to estimate the determinants of labour supply and demand in irrigated agriculture with reference to the Gezira scheme. Two samples, one comprising the farmers and the other the agricultural workers, were randomly selected through a field survey during the 2003/2004 season. A log‐linear model of multiple regressions was fitted to the data. The results indicated that labour demand and supply depend mostly on variables related to the household characteristics and economic and non‐economic conditions.     

中国股市风格转换投资盈利性测度

为了验证中国股市是否存在小盘股和大盘股择时投资并具预测价值,通过选取2005年3月至2013年7月巨潮小盘指数和巨潮大盘指数月度数据和周数据,采用logit分类选择模型,分别估计了一元和二元分类模型,并比较预测效果。经研究表明:国内风格转换非常频繁,一元模型预测效果优于二元模型,在考虑交易成本的情形下,月度数据经调整转换策略以便降低转换频率,证明存在超额收益;但周数据的风格转换收益锐减,低于小盘股买入即持有策略,甚至在完美预期下,风格转换策略绩效也不如持续持有小盘股。因此,可以认为国内投资存在结构性因素,导致投资者偏爱小盘股。     

生产率的测度以及各种生产率的比较

生产率的测度是产出和投入之比。对产出和投入的不同界定而产生的生产率包括：直接劳动生产率、完全劳动生产率、增加值劳动生产率等。本文探讨了完全劳动投入的测度，并比较了这些生产率之间的关系。     

劳动和劳动价值理论的新变化及其重要启示

本文在分析新历史条件下劳动新特点的基础上，认为马克思主义劳动价值理论的创新概括起来，其实质就是从狭义走向广义。广义劳动价值论是当代马克思主义经济理论的基石。最后，作者从劳动价值论的创新中阐明五个方面的重要启示。     

第三产业的劳动与马克思的劳动价值论

根据马克思的劳动价值论原理进行分析考察，在商品交换条件下，服务同物质产品一样，也是商品，也具有二因素，提供服务的劳动也具有二重性。实际上，马克思并没有否定服务的商品性质和提供服务的劳动的价值创造作用。那种死守只有提供有形物质产品的劳动才创造价值从而否定第三产业的劳动的价值创造作用的观点是错误的。当然，为特定经济基础服务的上层建筑活动的劳动不应该被看作是提供商品并创造价值的劳动。     

The Labour Market in the New Information Economy

The extension of information and communication technologies(ICT) to economic activity is changing the labour market inimportant ways, This article shows that computerization anduse of the Internet are associated with greater hours workedas well as higher wages; that ICT occupations are rapidly increasingtheir share of employment; that job search and recruitment aremoving rapidly to the Web, with consequences for matching employersand employees; and, possibly most important of all, that tradeunions have begun to use the Internet as a tool for servicingmembers and carrying their messages to the public, raising thepossibility of a major change in the nature of the union movement.     

跨国并购的盈利可能性:一个经济学分析框架

在跨国并购为主要特征的第五次并购浪潮中，大型的跨国并购主要都是水平并购，而日益增多的跨国公司在华并购投资也大多是水平并购。可以证明，在开放条件下，并购者通过并购进入市场，如果可供选择的市场进入模式的成本足够高，那么这种并购就是有利可图的。然而，市场进入成本和并购的盈利可能之间并不是一种单调的关系。这个结论与经济活动的实践是相吻合的，跨国并购之所以能够不断地发生，是基于跨国公司判断并购后有盈利可能的基础之上的。     

Core Labour Standards and FDI: Friends or Foes? The Case of Child Labour

We test the often-cited hypothesis that high levels of child labour attract foreign investors. Using panel data we show the overall effect which child labour has on foreign direct investment (FDI) to be a (small) negative one. We find strong evidence for the theoretical prediction that child labour deters FDI by slowing down economic development. Weaker evidence is provided for our theoretical prediction that child labour can discourage FDI via its impact on the availability of a skilled labour force in an economy. The data do not indicate that high levels of child labour drive down the factor share of labour, thereby increasing the attractiveness of an economy for foreign investors. JEL no. C33, F23, J82     

The Determinants of Child Labour and Child Schooling in Ghana

This paper investigates the main determinants of child labourand child schooling in Ghana, with special reference to theirinteraction. The study provides evidence on the impact of povertyand quality of schooling on child labour hours, taking intoaccount their potential endogeneity. The exercise distinguishesbetween cluster poverty and household poverty in the two-stageHeckman estimation procedure. In addition, it relies on a setof non-common regressors to identify the child labour hoursregression from the selection equation. Other methodologicalfeatures include simultaneous equations estimation of childlabour, child schooling and poverty, taking into account theirjoint endogeneity. The empirical results contain some evidenceof sharp rural urban differences, thus, pointing to the needto adopt region specific policies in enhancing child welfare.However, rural, semi-urban and urban Ghana agree on the effectiverole that improved school attendance can play in curbing childlabour.