Unemployment Duration: An Analysis of Incomplete,Completed, and Multiple Spells in Emilia-Romagna

Sets of incomplete and completed spells of unemployment wereobtained from the Italian Quarterly Labour Force Survey,carried out by ISTAT in Emilia-Romagna (1993:1–1995:1).The data were analysed through a proportional hazards modelwith a Weibull specification of the baseline hazard, includingboth unobserved heterogeneity applied to the scale parameterof the duration distribution, and telescoping effect to accountfor spikes in the distribution of unemployment spells.They were compared formally also with a non-proportional hazardmodel based on a log-logistic distribution of duration.The estimation of the parameters was carried out separately on bothcompleted spells and quarterly incomplete spells to ascertaindifferences and to envisage the potential seasonal effect.The results showed that the shape parameters changed over time.The parameters of each covariate proved to be statisticallystable over time and were also equal to the parameters ofthe completed spells model.Therefore, the analysis of incomplete spells is fairly feasiblewhen an even (closed form) baseline hazard function is suitablefor data.     

Intergenerational Mobility in Britain: Evidence from Unemployment Patterns

Recent papers have examined the intergenerational transmission of well-being by looking at the relationship between parents' and children's income. However, by concentrating on those who are working these studies exclude some of the very poorest in society, the unemployed. In this paper we extend the empirical work on intergenerational welfare in the UK by looking at the links between fathers' and sons' unemployment histories. Using an approach which takes account of both incidence and intensity of son's unemployment, we provide further evidence showing that parental background is an important determinant of a child's future welfare. A son whose father was unemployed 20 years earlier is almost twice as likely to be unemployed as a son whose father was not unemployed. Furthermore, this dependency remains significant after controlling for a range of son's characteristics including education, ability and family composition.     

Ford in U.K. Car-tel?

The British car industry has long been suspected of provoking higher prices by restricting the importation of cheaper models. Four oconomists at the Poiytechnic of Central London arguo for the revision of UK design copyright laws to increase competition.     

Cultural Diversity and Export Growth in the U. K.

Abstract

This study provides comparative empirical evidence concerning the motives for exporting of Asian and indigenous¹(white)-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the U.K. Findings are primarily based on a large scale sample of U.K. firms and Factor Analysis together with MANOVA are employed to establish whether statistical differences exist between the groups of firms in relation to their motives for undertaking export activities. Also reported, are selected findings from a series of in-depth interviews. This investigation provides a contribution to the literature since it questions whether current export assistance and targeting procedures are suitable for addressing the export stimuli perceived as important by managers from different sub-cultures.     

Optimal geographic diversification and firm performance: evidence from the U.K.

This paper examines the relationship between multinationality and firm performance. The analysis is based on a sample of over 400 UK multinationals, and encompasses both service sector and manufacturing sector multinationals. This paper confirms the non-linear relationship between performance and multinationality that is reported elsewhere in the literature, but offers further analysis of this relationship. Specifically, by correcting for endogeneity in the investment decision, and for shocks in productivity across countries, the paper demonstrates that the returns to multinationality are greater than those that have been reported elsewhere, and persist to higher degrees of international diversification.

An empirical analysis of self-employment in the U.K.

The paper formulates a self-employment/paid-employment choice problem that draws upon Knight's notion that the individual responds to the risk-adjusted relative earnings opportunities in each sector. Based on a development of such choice-theoretic considerations, an econometric model is developed with the purpose of empirically examining the determinants of self-employment. The model features simultaneous determination of employment status and earnings, which allows for self-selectivity. The model is estimated using a sample of 4762 individuals from the General Household Survey for 1978. The estimation of the earnings equation enables a calculation of the self-employment/paid-employment earnings differential and the estimated probit equation for self-employment/paid-employment status facilitates the prediction of the probability of self-employment. The paper finds that there is positive selection bias in the observed earnings of employees, that the probability of self-employment depends positively on the earnings difference between the two sectors and that education and age are significant determinants of self-employment.     

Interest rate and bank stock returns asymmetry: Evidence from U.S. banks

We use the multivariate extension of Exponential Generalized Autoregressive Conditionally Heteroscedastic (EGARCH) of Nelson, Econometrica, 59: 347–370, 1991 to test for spillover effects and examine the extent of asymmetries between short- and long-term interest rates and portfolios of money center, large, and medium-size banks in the U.S. Our results indicate the existence of price and volatility spillovers from short- and long-term interest rates to the three bank portfolios. We also provide evidence of response asymmetries for the portfolios of money center and large banks, suggesting that money center and large banks are more sensitive to negative than positive short- and long-term interest rate changes.

The J-Curve: Evidence from commodity trade between Canada and the U.S.

Several studies in the literature have tried to assess the impact of real depreciation of the Canadian dollar on the Canadian trade balance. They have either relied on the trade data between Canada and the rest of the world or between Canada and her major trading partners. In this paper we consider the trade between Canada and her major trading partner, the U.S. However, unlike previous research, we disaggregate the trade data between the two countries by commodity. We use export and import data over the period 1962–2004 from 152 commodities and the bounds testing approach to cointegration and error-correction modeling and show that real depreciation of the Canadian dollar has short-run effects on the trade balance of two-thirds of the industries. However, only in 50% of the industries, the short-run effects translate into the long-run favorable effects.

Business communities in the European confectionery sector: A U.K.-Finland comparison

This paper is based on the early stages of an international collaborative project investigating the structural changes of the confectionery sectors in Finland and the U.K. over the past two decades. An institutional perspective is used to extend conventional understandings of industries via the development of the sector concept. The network and community constructs are shown to be important devices for understanding the institutional character of a sector. Accordingly, the paper reveals the similarities and differences between the two national examples. An explanation is offered of the way domestic networks persist in both countries while contrasting community profiles are apparent.     

英国城乡规划的经验及启示——写在《英国城乡规划》第14版中文版出版之前

英国的规划体系注重经验与惯例的积累,在针对城乡规划的基本矛盾———如何应对未来的不确定性时,采取了指导型的开发规划与自由裁量式的开发控制模式,使得城乡规划有能力去处理多样的需求以及不断变化的问题。当前中国规划体系在面对社会经济转型的过程中仍暴露出许多问题,结合中国国情参考英国经验将有助于中国规划体系的构建和完善。     

Disproportionate Black and Hispanic Unemployment in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: The Roles of Racial Inequality, Segregation and Discrimination in Male Joblessness

Abstract . Three common hypotheses about disproportionate Black and Hispanic unemployment among metropolitan males are tested, using data from the 1980 Population and the 1977 Economic Censuses. It is found that Black and Hispanic male unemployment is higher relative to that of Whites where jobs are most suburbanized and the minority population least so. This supports the view that segregation which separates minorities from job location elevates minority unemployment. It is also found that relative levels of Black, but not Hispanic, unemployment correlate positively to the minority percentage in metropolitan populations. This is consistent with the view that potential White gains from discrimination are greater where the Black (but not Hispanic) population is larger. Finally, both Blacks and Hispanics experience more disproportionate unemployment where their percentage of high school graduates is low relative to Whites, though this is less true for areas with larger Black populations. This suggests that job skill differentials also play some role in disproportionate minority unemployment.     

美日英城市规划立法模式比较

发达国家在城市规划管理制度的建设和实践中,形成了不同的规划立法制度模式。从规划立法中的中央与地方关系、立法主体的特征及其关系、监督制约机制等方面入手,分析和总结了美英日三国规划立法制度模式的特点及其制度实践中的经验教训,对于思考和探索适合我国当前城市规划的制度建设的路径和方法,提供了重要的借鉴和启示。     

我国城市居民通勤特征与通勤方式选择行为研究--基于天津市的微观调查数据

基于《2017年天津市居民住房与交通状况调查问卷》微观数据,利用空间插值法刻画天津市居民通勤特征,并构建MNL模型分析居民通勤方式选择行为的影响因素。结果显示:天津市居民通勤距离由内向外呈跳跃式衰减圈层结构,居住中心性与就业岗位郊区化并存;跨区域通勤以内部通勤为主,侧面通勤、逆通勤为辅;非机动化程度较低,以共享单车为主体的绿色出行模式初现;通勤距离、私家车及自行车、电动车拥有状况、性别、受教育程度等因素对居民通勤方式选择行为影响显著。基于此,从优化城市空间布局、完善城市公共交通体系、打造慢行交通系统等方面提出对策建议。     

Some Alternative Definitions of Youth Unemployment: A Means for Improved Understanding and Policy Formulation

Abstract . Current definitions of unemployment are inadequate for analyzing and understanding the problem of youth unemployment in the United States. By focusing on alternative definitions of youth unemployment, this study seeks to better understand the nature of the problem. Alternative rates of unemployment using data disaggregated by age, race, and gender from 1971 to 1983 are presented. Some findings: (1) all of the rates taken together provide a much better understanding of the youth unemployment problem; and (2) more effort should be devoted to developing, analyzing, and applying alternative concepts of satisfactory or unsatisfactory status for young people. Further, detailed studies of the activities, needs, and goals of a diverse population of young people and of societal preferences are clearly warranted. Without such efforts, youth unemployment policies will most likely be misdirected.     

Black-White Economic Participation in Large U.S. Cities: Some Determinants of Their Differentials

Abstract . In this study some of the causes of the differentials in Black-White economic participation in large U.S. cities are examined. Specific concern is with unemployment and withdrawal from the labor force. The underlying hypothesis is that these differentials are a response to compositional differences between the two populations. The effects of region, economic structure, and segregation are also examined. A causal model is explicated in which these variables are inter related and their direct and indirect effects upon the dependent variables analyzed. The data suggest that, while having similar patterns of causes, labor force withdrawal and unemployment differentials are distinct phenomena. It also appears that a major portion of the variance in these variables is not accounted for by compositional differences between Blacks and Whites on socio-economic variables. However, educational and occupational differentiation have theoretically significant effects. It is argued that a major portion of the residual variance is due to discrimination, although there is no way of directly testing this hypothesis. An important negative finding is the apparently minor impact of residential segregation, suggesting that the physical isolation of Blacks is not a key factor in their limited economic participation. Finally, the data suggest that it is meaningful to regard assimilation as a multidimensional phenomenon whose dimensions are causally interrelated.     

Finance and Growth: Evidence from Some Arab Countries

Abstract

Some analysts contend that the ‘size effect’ -the higher returns associated with small-capitalization companies over those with large-capitalization, are a myth. Most empirical studies to date relate to U.S. stock exchanges. Since the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange is considered an ‘emerging market,’ it is valuable to explore this phenomenon in this market.

This empirical study considers the performance of individual stocks and two alternative portfolios. The results show that the ‘size effect’ does not exist on the TASE, and that the large-capitalization stocks and portfolios generated higher returns versus their small-capitalization counterparts. Thus, the ‘size effect’ may only be a myth.