The impact of unemployment insurance taxes on wages

This paper examines the incidence of state unemployment insurance taxes on wages paid to workers in various demographic groups. The empirical work matches state level measures of unemployment insurance tax and benefit variables to data aggregated from the Current Population Survey on worker earnings for the period 1992 to 2002. Econometric evidence presented in the paper supports the paper's main hypothesis that UI tax rate structure has its greatest adverse impact on less mobile workers (prime age married women and young workers) and little impact on more mobile workers (prime age men).     

Great expectations: Past wages and unemployment durations

Decomposing wages into worker and firm wage components, we find that firm-fixed components are sizeable parts of workers' wages. If workers can only imperfectly observe the extent of firm-fixed components in their wages, they might be misled about the overall wage distribution. Such misperceptions may lead to unjustified high reservation wages, resulting in overly long unemployment durations. We examine the influence of previous wages on unemployment durations for workers after exogenous lay-offs and, using Austrian administrative data, we find that younger workers are, in fact, unemployed longer if they profited from high firm-fixed components in the past. We interpret our findings as evidence for overconfidence generated by imperfectly observed productivity.     

The effect of search frictions on wages

We aim to test whether the degree of informational search frictions in the labor market has a negative effect on wages. In a range of equilibrium search models of the labor market, this effect is predicted to be negative. Nevertheless, this has never been tested. We perform tests with matched worker–firm data. The worker data are informative on individual wages and labor market transitions, and this allows for estimation of the degree of search frictions. The firm data are informative on labor productivity. This allows us to investigate how the mean difference between labor productivity and wages in a market depends on the degree of frictions and other determinants, and to assess the quantitative relevance of frictions for wages.     

The ambiguous effect of minimum wages on hours

In a competitive model we ease the assumption that efficiency units of labour are the product of hours and workers. We show that a minimum wage may either increase or decrease hours per worker and the change will have the opposite sign to the slope of the equilibrium hours hourly wage locus. Similarly, total hours worked may rise or fall. We illustrate the results throughout with a Cobb-Douglas example.     

The cost of capital in the international firm

This paper argues that the international firm should use the firm's global weighted average cost of capital to evaluate investment decisions, domestic and international, and to judge the performance of affiliates at home and abroad. The paper discusses the adjustment necessary to quantitate exchange risk and to account for financing that is subsidized or tied to particular investments. Foreign subsidiaries, it is argued, do not have an independent capital structure because their liabilities are explicitly or implicitly the obligation of the parent firm.     

The political economy of international trade and factor mobility

Abstract. Free trade in goods and factors is efficient. When we move away from economic theory and consider the policies actually followed by governments, we observe distortions being implemented both on goods and factors trades. It is natural then to question the relative merits of the two types of intervention, and the normative literature has provided only partial answers. We ask then why is the international flow of goods and factors not free, and the political economy literature has looked at the two issues only separately. In studying the determination of trade policy, a theoretical paradigm has emerged, focusing on the role of influence driven contributions. This approach has also found strong empirical support. The literature on the political economy of factor mobility, on the other hand, is fragmented. Distortions in labor and capital flows are typically the subject of different studies, and only recently a unified framework has been proposed. More work has to be done in this area as well as in integrating the political economy of trade and factor movements.     

Sticky prices, fair wages, and the co-movements of unemployment and labor productivity growth

This paper studies the co-movements of unemployment and labor productivity growth for the U.S. economy. Measures of co-movements in the frequency domain indicate that co-movements between variables differ strongly according to the frequency. First, long-term and business cycle co-movements are larger than short-term co-movements. Second, co-movements are negative in the short and long run, but positive over the business cycle. A New Keynesian model that combines nominal rigidity on the goods market (sticky prices) and real rigidity on the labor market (fair wages) is shown to be quantitatively consistent with the observed co-movements both in the long term and over the business cycle. However, the model fails to explain the short-term co-movements.     

The effect of unemployment benefits on re-employment rates: Evidence from the Finnish unemployment insurance reform

In January 2003, the unemployment benefits in Finland were increased for workers with long employment histories. The average benefit increase was 15% for the first 150 days of the unemployment spell. At the same time severance pay system was abolished. In this paper we evaluate the effect of the change in the benefit structure on the duration of unemployment by comparing the changes in the re-employment hazard profiles among the unemployed who were affected by the reform to the changes in a comparison group whose benefit structure remained unchanged. We find that the change in the benefit structure reduced the re-employment hazards by on average 17%. The effect is largest at the beginning of the unemployment spell and disappears after the eligibility period for the increased benefits expires.     

Labour market oligopsonistic competition: The effect of worker immobility on wages

We suggest that firms in a local labour market may be able to exploit worker mobility costs and offer immobile workers wages that are lower than their marginal product. If so, the ability of employers to exploit worker immobility in setting wages would decline in the competitiveness of the local labour market. We test this intuition using a measure of individual mobility costs and measures of local labour market competition. Our findings suggest that worker immobility causes substantial wage variation across workers in small, weakly competitive markets, and in occupations where wages are individually bargained.     

Antecedents of the small firm effect: the role of knowledge spillover and blocked mobility for employee entrepreneurial intentions

Small firms are said to produce more entrepreneurs than larger ones (“small firm effect”). Applying existing theories, we analyze how different management positions influence employee entrepreneurship in small firms. Based on a panel study of 4832 cases, we provide evidence for the fact that small firms indeed produce more entrepreneurs. Moreover, we show that lower management positions of small firm employees are responsible for this small firm effect. We conclude that small firms seem to create an environment in which employees on low management positions strongly benefit from knowledge spillover effects as they are educated necessary skills, knowledge and expertise, and are able to build up networks conducive to entrepreneurship (“knowledge spillover effect”), while not having the multifaceted advancement opportunities as in large companies (“blocked mobility effect”).     

Drivers to firm innovation and their effects on performance: an international comparison

This research aims to analyse the drivers to company innovation and their effects on the financial performance. This study is based upon a sample of companies, located in two neighbouring countries (Portugal and Spain). Linear regression was the methodology deployed to analyse the importance of innovation types (differences between Portugal and Spain). To analyse the extent to which the innovation capacity variables influence financial performance (turnover), we made recourse to Probit Regression models. Our results show significant differences in terms of both the drivers and inhibitors to innovation in these two countries. The introduction of products into new markets only proved significant at Spanish companies whilst innovations in both products and processes are significant in both sets of Iberian companies.     

Sign reversal in LIVE treatment effect estimates: The effect of vocational training on unemployment duration

We use administrative records in Israel to identify the treatment effect of vocational training for the unemployed on the duration of unemployment. We randomize training using data on the availability of courses in and around the time of becoming unemployed. This assumes that the timing of entry into unemployment is random, and course availability around the time of entry is independent of current labor market conditions. According to naïve estimators, which ignore self-selectivity, training reduces unemployment durations. The same applies to linear (IV) estimators, which control for self-selectivity. However, the opposite is found when non-linear IV estimators are used, i.e. training prolongs unemployment durations. Sign reversal depends on how the first stage is specified. A non-nested test indicates that the nonlinear estimate of the treatment effect is preferable to its linear counterpart, in which case training prolongs unemployment spells.     

The national innovation policy effect according to firm location

The regional nature of innovation and innovation policy was investigated. The aim of this study was to determine whether the specific economic and institutional conditions of a region had an influence on the results of a national policy intended to support entrepreneurial innovation. The analysis compared the effect of the national R&D subsidies on the innovation effort of firms located in central regions, which concentrate an important percentage of the national innovation activity, together with those firms located in periphery regions. Significant regional differences were detected with regard to the national R&D subsidies’ effect and distribution. The central regions manifested a higher subsidy effect compared to the periphery regions. The results of this study have allowed us to conclude that the region plays an important differentiating role in connection with the final result of the innovation policy aimed at the entire national territory. Therefore, this study recommends including the geographical location of the firm in future evaluations.     

The effect of firm financial characteristics and the availability of alternative finance on IPO underpricing

This article tests the hypothesis that the financial characteristics of the issuing firm, along with the availability of alternative sources of financing, are important determinants of the level of underpricing. While risk and its relationship to underpricing have been examined in previous studies, liquidity risk is unique because of its special implications for a firm’s bargaining position with the underwriter. Consistent with my hypothesis, firms with greater liquidity concerns at the IPO experience greater underpricing. On the other hand, firms with higher levels of venture capital funding and/or debt financing are more fully priced.     

The effect of firm complexity and founding team size on agile internal communication in startups

Today’s firms, particularly startups, require agile communication to sense and seize opportunities and to adapt to the market as quickly as possible (Picken 2017; Takeuchi and Nonaka 1986). However, scholars have predominantly focused on external communication, taking agile internal communication for granted. This paper analyzes the combinations of conditions (i.e., firm features and communication devices) that are present in startups with agile internal communication. The study considers the startup’s life cycle, the size of the startup, and the size of the founding team. The use of direct communication channels, structured communication channels, and agile methods is also considered. Analysis of 88 Spanish startups shows that the size of the founding team influences the combination of present and absent communication methods when agile internal communication is present. In startups where the founding team is small, direct communication methods are absent, whereas the use of structured communication methods, online project management, and other communication tools is present. On the contrary, when the founding team size is large, direct communication is a core condition, as is the absence of structured communication methods. Agile methods represent a peripheral condition for the presence of agile internal communication when the founding team is small and structured communication is present as a core condition. Similarly, when the founding team is small and the presence of direct communication is a core condition, the presence of agile methods is a peripheral condition for the presence of agile internal communication.

     

国内失业问题研究最新进展

从失业的性质和原因、农村劳动力的转移和经济增长、失业统计和失业现状、缓解失业的对策措施等四个方面介绍了当前国内理论界对我国失业问题研究的最新进展,并进行了简要评述.本文认为,当前我国对失业问题的理论研究取得了重大进展,为促进就业奠定了理论基础.但和我国日益严峻的就业形势相比,失业理论的研究总体滞后,创新不够.     

The effect of home-ownership on labor mobility in the Netherlands

In various macro-studies, home-ownership is found to hamper job mobility and to increase unemployment. This paper addresses similar issues, but uses a micro-econometric framework where both individual job mobility, as well as the probability of being homeowner are modeled simultaneously. Using a panel of individual labor and housing market histories for the period 1989–1998, we estimate a nonparametric model of both job durations and home-ownership. We do not find homeowners to change less from jobs than tenants. Instead, our results suggest that the housing decision is driven by job commitment, and not the reverse. We do however find homeowners to be less vulnerable to unemployment.     

The effect of performance measurement systems on firm performance: A cross-sectional and a longitudinal study

Performance measurement (PM) systems have been popularized over the last 20 years and the operations management literature is replete with discussion of metrics and measurement systems. Yet, a comprehensive nomological network relating types of PM system uses to organizational capabilities and performance is lacking. Furthermore, there is scant empirical evidence attesting to the explanatory efficacy of PM systems as it relates to organizational performance. We view PM system uses through the lenses of the Resource Orchestration Theory (ROT) and explore specific relationships of underlying variables by relying on the Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT). Resting on the extant literature, we identify two types of uses which include Diagnostic Use (the review of critical performance variables in order to maintain, alter, or justify patterns in an organizational activity) and interactive use (a forward-looking activity exemplified by active and frequent involvement of top management envisioning new ways to orchestrate organizational resources for competitive advantage) and relate them along with their interaction (i.e., dynamic tension) to organizational capabilities. We further link capabilities to target performance, which subsequently impacts organizational performance (operationalized through both perceptual and objective financial performance measures). The nomological network is tested via a cross sectional study (386 Italian firms) while the efficacy of PM systems to explain organizational performance is examined by using longitudinal panel data approaches over a 10 year period. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that the use of PM systems leads to improved capabilities, which then impact performance. Contrary to the extant literature, however, we discovered that Diagnostic Use appears to be the most constructive explanatory variable for capabilities. On the other hand, in light of a longitudinal study, we also uncovered that Diagnostic Use experienced depreciating returns as far as objective financial measures are concerned. Also, when high levels of Diagnostic Use were coupled with low levels of Interactive Use, they produced the lowest levels of organizational capabilities. Conversely, high levels of both types of PM system use generated extraordinary high levels of capabilities. There is sufficient evidence to suggest that organizations cannot rely merely on Diagnostic Use of PM systems. We also learned that the effects of PM systems (measured via adaptation) fade unless high learning rates are applied. We offer detailed recommendations for future research which have theoretical as well as empirical implications.