Incidence and duration of unemployment spells: Implications for the male–female wage differentials

We demonstrate in this paper that the incidence of unemployment and duration of unemployment spells affect the male–female gender wage differential. The results indicate that after controlling for sample selectivity bias in the wage equation, the incidence of unemployment and duration of unemployment spells account for about 14.2% and 39.6%, respectively, of the wage differential that exists between males and females. We observed that while the duration of unemployment accounts for a substantial portion of the wage differential in both the service (48.8%) and the manufacturing (17.0%) sectors, the impacts of the incidence of unemployment and duration of unemployment spells variables on the wage differential are rather small in the service (0.07%) and the manufacturing (1.6%) sectors. Also, high incidence of unemployments is associated with low wages for males and females in all samples. In contrast, longer durations of unemployment spells tend to increase males’ wages and decrease females’ wages in the full and service sector samples. At the macro level, the results seem to suggest that promotion of gender wage equality should be associated with policies that will minimize the female's incidence of unemployment and duration of unemployment spells.     

The intensity of land use in urban employment sectors: Chicago 1956–1970

Net employment density and net floor space density (floor area ratio) in four employment sectors are examined for metropolitan Chicago in 1956 and 1970. The study also includes the formation and preliminary evaluation of a model of land-use intensity.     

Output and unemployment dynamics in the United States: 1950–1985

For US data over 1950–1985 the stochastic components of GNP growth and the unemployment rate appear to be stationary, and there is substantial feedback between these variables. The unconditional mean rate of unemployment in a joint model thus provides a natural benchmark in discussions of the ‘business cycle’. A bivariate VAR model is used to describe output–unemployment dynamics, to estimate the degree of persistence of output innovations, and to decompose output into trend and cycle. The bivariate results are interpreted using a restricted VAR and it is shown that a closely related cyclical measure can be obtained directly from the Okun's Law equation.     

Potential impacts of the devaluation of Nepalese currency: A general equilibrium approach

This paper measures the potential impacts of the devaluation of domestic currency of the small, developing, landlocked and transition South Asian economy of Nepal, which is lagging behind in policy studies. The impacts on growth, distribution, price changes in factor and product markets, and on selected macroeconomic features are measured. Using a computable general equilibrium model applied to social accounting matrix data, we conclude that devaluation is expansionary but mostly benefits the rich, thus leading to a more uneven income distribution. In general, the expansion of economic activities occurs in agricultural and industrial sectors, whereas services activities contract. However, when the rate of devaluation is high, the agricultural sector also starts contracting. To this typical developing economy, devaluation causes an improvement in saving investment and export/import ratios, whereas the budget deficit widens.     

Existence of equilibrium actions and of equilibrium : A note on the ‘new’ existence theorems

A lemma by Ky Fan, which asserts the existence of a maximal element relative to some ordering (an equilibrium action) in a compact choice set, is extended to a larger class of orderings. This extension allows one to generalize slightly several existence theorems and seems to be useful for the applications. Kakutani's fixed-point theorem and the existence of an equilibrium in a generalized game are used to exemplify this. In the last case the method of proof may be of some independent interest involving, as it does, the reduction of an n-person game to a corresponding 1-person game.     

The luck of being of the right gender and color: a detailed discussion about the wage gaps in the Brazilian manufacturing industry

Quality & Quantity - This work analyzed the wage discrimination in the Brazilian manufacturing industry. By recurring to the most updated database, several gaps were analyzed between white and...     

Performance Pay and Productivity: A Note on the Moderating Role of a High‐wage Policy

Using panel data from German establishments, this study finds that performance pay is associated with increased productivity only when it is coupled with a high‐wage policy. This holds for individual‐based performance pay, group‐based performance pay, and profit sharing. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mobility and the social organization of urban space in the United States, 1760–1820

La nature spécifique des luttes de classes dans les villes américaines avant les années 1870 a reçu, curieusement, peu d'attention de la part des historiens. Cet article examine l'évolution de la lutte de classes dans les villes du nord-est entre 1760 et 1820. Il est soutenu que pendant cette période le travail est devenu marchandise, ou force de travail, et que la distinction entre travail et force de travail est créé par la mobilité, fondement sur lequel l'accumulation du capital devient possible. ‘L'accumulation primitive’ est précédée par la ‘mobilité primitive’ dont il y a évidence aussi tôt que les années 1760 dans l'agriculture commerciale des régions du nord-est. Si la structure du travail temporaire urbain demeure en grande partie inchangée pendant cette periode, celle du travail artisanal devient sujette aux contraintes de la ‘force du travail’ au début du dix-neuvièrne siècle. Si le contrôle du pouvoir politique est à la base de la lutte de classes urbaine à la fin du dix-huitième siècle, vers les années 1820 il devient plutôt contrôle du pouvoir économique. Les réformes proposées dans les années qui suivent, ont comme objet la modification du comportement économique de la classe ouvrière ou des ‘pauvres’, qui étaient en effet en grande partie des Américains d'origine et non des immigrants. Ces réformes ont une portée spéciale dans les grandes villes où la réorganisation du travail par le capital fait face à des réactions violentes basées sur des idées communautaires plus anciennes. Ces réformes étaient essentielles à la réorganisation rationale de l'espace urbain social, et en tant que tel, représentent le commencement de la ‘modernisation’ des conflits de classes.     

A keynesian macro-econometric model of the UK: 1955–1984

In this paper we present a small Keynesian macro-economic model in which wage-price determination is linked to the working of goods and money markets. By explicitly treating the Keynes effect we derive a general expression for the employment-money supply elasticity, and draw the IS-LM loci in the employment-interest rate space Our empirical specification allows for short-run disequilibrium dynamic adjustments around the static long-run relations predicted by the theoretical model. By careful use of our specification search strategy we obtain a statistically sound econometric model, which exhibits sensible long-run properties. A remarkable finding implied by our estimates is that equilibrium unemployment is negatively affected by both money supply and incomes policy.     

What moves housing markets: A variance decomposition of the rent–price ratio

We apply the dynamic Gordon growth model to the housing market in 23 US metropolitan areas, the four Census regions, and the nation from 1975 to 2007. The model allows the rent–price ratio at each date to be split into the expected present discounted values of rent growth, real interest rates, and a housing premium over real rates. We show that housing premia are variable and forecastable and account for a significant fraction of rent–price ratio volatility at the national and local levels, and that covariances among the three components damp fluctuations in rent–price ratios. Thus, explanations of house-price dynamics that focus only on interest rate movements and ignore these covariances can be misleading. These results are similar to those found for stocks and bonds.     

The core-periphery model: A note on the existence and uniqueness of short-run equilibrium

We consider the core-periphery model [P. Krugman, Increasing returns and economic geography, Journal of Political Economy 199 (1) (1991) 483–499]. The nature and stability of the possible steady states of the model have been made progressively precise; [M. Fujita, P. Krugman, A. Venables, The Spatial Economy. Cities, Regions and International Trade, MIT Press, Cambridge, 1999; R. Baldwin, R. Forslid, Ph. Martin, G. Ottaviano, F. Robert-Nicoud, Economic Geography and Public Policy, Princeton Univ. Press, 2003]. In that model as well as in all the new economic geography models that have been derived from it, the short-run (instantaneous) equilibrium is implicitly determined by the current labor distribution across regions. The numerical computations used so far to determine the short-run equilibrium, tend to suggest its existence. In this paper, an existence and uniqueness proof of short-run equilibrium is provided.     

城市路桥收费项目TOT与ABS融资方式比较——以武汉市为例

结合武汉市路桥收费改革后的现状,对适用于路桥收费项目的TOT和ABS两种融资方式作了比较分析,指出城市路桥收费具有稳定的现金流,是较好的融资载体,可充分利用这一存量资产,用创新的融资方式--ABS,将路桥收费的未来收益提前变现,以提升城市基础设施融资水平.     

The joint determination of ‘Quality’ and price in standardized products: A comparative dynamic analysis

Every supermarket provides many examples of attempts lo develop more economical standardized products which will attract additional customers while guaranteeing the user that the quantity will be acceptable. We assume this process involves development costs incurred in reducing the amount incorporated in a monopoly product of its dominant product-characteristic. A comparative dynamic analysis is used to explore the search for lower prices and higher output. The heightened vulnerability of the firm to market forces and some policy implications of the analysis are brought out.