The unemployment structure of the US states

This paper analyses the time series properties of the unemployment rates of the US economy using a regional disaggregated level. Our results are, in general, favorable to the rejection of the presence of a unit root in these variables. However, we can also observe that this conclusion is clearly qualified by the level of disaggregation employed. We also find robust evidence in favor of the presence of some breaks in the evolution of these unemployment rates. We subsequently offer an estimation of the NAIRU, which is based on the use of the Bai–Perron procedure.     

The effect of judicial independence on entrepreneurship in the US states

The relationship between institutional quality, entrepreneurship, and economic growth has been well documented within the literature. However, much less work has been done regarding judicial independence and how this affects, specifically, entrepreneurial activity. Therefore, this paper attempts to fill that gap by exploiting the differences in judicial independence that exist between the US states and empirically evaluating how this affects entrepreneurship. Overall, the results suggest that the method of selecting and retaining justices of both courts of last resort and intermediate appellate courts has a significant and direct effect on entrepreneurial activity, though the latter result is somewhat less robust. The presence of judicial nominating and retention commissions also has a significant and direct effect. Further, although somewhat weaker, the method of selecting the chief justice of a state court of last resort would also appear to have an impact on entrepreneurship. These results are robust to a number of specifications.     

Electronic monitoring in public organizations: evidence from US local governments

Technology use in the workplace expands the ability to monitor employees through activities such as website tracking, email scanning, and social media monitoring. Monitoring is a fundamental aspect of the relationship between organizations, employees, and stakeholders and can affect perceptions of privacy, autonomy, and trust in the workplace. However, electronic monitoring is little investigated in public management research and we have minimal knowledge about the factors that prompt public managers to adopt electronic monitoring. Focusing on small- and medium-sized US municipalities, we investigate types of electronic monitoring and how organizational, sociopolitical, and technological factors shape electronic monitoring intensity. We test our hypotheses with data from a 2014 national survey of 2,500 local managers, website coding data, and US Census data. We find that electronic monitoring, especially monitoring online activities, is a response to organizational centralization, participation of internal stakeholders, social media use, and technology concerns.     

A Semiparametric Analysis of the Term Structure of the US Interest Rates*

The short end of the US$ term structure of interest rates is analysed allowing for the possibility of fractional integration and cointegration. This approach permits mean‐reverting dynamics for the data and the existence of a common long run stochastic trend to be maintained simultaneously. We estimate the model for the period 1963–2006 and find it compatible with this structure. The restriction that the data are I(1) and the errors are I(0) is rejected, mainly because the latter still display long memory. This result is consistent with a model of monetary policy in which the Central Bank operates affecting contracts with short term maturity, and the impulses are transmitted to contracts with longer maturities and then to the final goals. However, the transmission of the impulses along the term structure cannot be modelled using the Expectations Hypothesis.     

Following the money: The political determinants of E-fiscal transparency in US states

ABSTRACT

This research utilizes a unique panel data set (2009 to 2013) on the evolution of US state fiscal transparency websites and explores the political determinants of E-fiscal transparency. The dynamic panel data analysis reveals that divided government and Democratic governor exert a positive effect on state e-fiscal transparency, while the effect of political polarization is shown to be negative. Furthermore, there is some evidence to show that the fiscal variable of debt stock moderates the relationship between democratic political ideology and state E-fiscal transparency. Finally, there is a positive spillover effect in state E-fiscal transparency.     

The economic return to schooling in Ireland

Recent developments in the schooling returns literature have focused on exploiting alternative instruments. A number of instruments are available in an Irish dataset, including parental background variables (social class and educational attainment), and variables measuring changes in the schooling system (the introduction of free secondary schooling in the mid-1960s, accompanied by a rapid rise in educational participation rates, and the raising of the school-leaving age in 1972). The results suggest, however, that OLS estimates of rates of return are not significantly downward biased as would be suggested by recent arguments in the literature.     

以城市包围农村--美国西部开发的历史透视

美国西部开发是以城镇为先导,带动区域经济发展,取得了巨大成就,但也存在一些问题.本文总结其利弊得失,以史为鉴,为中国西部开发提供参考.     

Unfulfilled Promise: Laboratory experiments in public management research

Abstract

We make the case for increased laboratory experimentation in public management research. Laboratory experiments can generate useful knowledge, particularly in testing causal relationships among constructs of interest. The challenge in this regard is one of identifying the appropriate role for experiments in a greater knowledge production enterprise. Although laboratory experiments are underutilized, they have proffered important knowledge contributions to the field, especially in areas of decision-making and, increasingly, motivation. Because practical problems may pose a greater obstacle to laboratory experimentation in public management than epistemological issues, we address external validity and the cost of conducting laboratory experiments before concluding with suggestions for future research.     

Productivity and efficiency in the US: effects of business cycles and public capital

We add to the literature on the US productivity slowdown and effects of public capital on productivity by employing Malmquist productivity indexes to measure productivity. These indexes allow us to decompose productivity growth into efficiency change and technological innovation. We derive these components for each observation, which we exploit to explore factors which may lead to differences in productivity across regions, including business cycles, both own-state and cross-border public infrastructure investment, and relative sizes of the manufacturing, service and public sector. Our results suggest that the components of total factor productivity change lend important insights into the fairly complex effects of public capital on productivity growth.     

公共管理社会化与公共服务市场化--美国"政府再造"对珠海市城市管理制度创新的启示

文章认为公共管理社会化与公共服务市场化是美国“政府再造”的重要政策工具。在分析美国地方政府推行公共管理社会化和公共服务市场化经验教训以及珠海城市管理面临问题基础上 ,提出珠海城市管理体制创新的具体策略 ,包括 (1)推动非政府、非营利组织发展 ;(2 )大力推进社区建设 ;(3)完善“两级政府、三级管理”的城市管理体系 ;(4)全面开展公共服务市场化改革 ;(5 )吸引非国有资本参与基础设施建设 (6 )建立科学的政府绩效评估制度。     

Strategic change of public research units in their scientific activity

The current debate on public sector research in modern economies has generated an increasing interest regarding the scientific activity of research units for external users. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between production of basic research and applied activity of public research units, focusing Italian case-study. The results show an increasing crowding-out effect between applied activity vs. basic research. This effect is due to cuts in research unit budgets and increased push by governments that have obliged the researchers to collaborate with firms and external institutions for getting funds more and more necessary to the economic survival of public research institutes. In addition, to cope with consequential environmental threats, Italian research organizations have been facing a strategic change. In fact, public research institutes now operate as research units market-oriented and researchers focus on applied activity and consultancy, rather than basic research. This strategic change of public research institutions is also present in several countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, and so on. Because of this worldwide tendency, there is the threat, in public research organizations, of less discovery-based research around longer term needs centred on public welfare that also affect, negatively, long-run economic growth.     

国有公共企业的伦理困境研究

从规范的角度讲,公共企业一定程度上被视为政府职能的延伸,承担着诸多的公共服务功能,扮演着"公共利益"的增进者和维护者角色;同时,公共企业作为一种经济组织是重要的市场主体,又必须参与市场经营,具有使资产保值增值的营利性经济功能。在委托代理关系中,作为直接委托人,政府可以通过多种手段对公共企业进行管制和规控,使其对政府负责,但作为间接委托人的公民却无法直接行使最终委托权,使公共企业对自己负责。由此,公共企业在运营过程中必然会面临"公共服务"与"经营营利"、"公共利益"与"团体利益"、"国家责任"与"公民责任"多重价值的排序和选择,如果选择不当,便会陷入伦理的困境。     

The return to firm investments in human capital

In this paper we estimate the rate of return to firm investments in human capital in the form of formal job training. We use a panel of large firms with detailed information on the duration of training, the direct costs of training, and several firm characteristics. Our estimates of the return to training are substantial (8.6%) for those providing training. Results suggest that formal job training is a good investment for these firms possibly yielding comparable returns to either investments in physical capital or investments in schooling.     

Distinctive research patterns on public sector performance measurement of public administration and accounting disciplines

Abstract

This article explores distinctive research patterns of public administration and accounting disciplines concerning public sector performance measurement (PSPM). Our review shows that accounting researchers from Europe investigate reasons for limited PM use and factors explaining a rational or symbolic PM use, inspired by organization theory and institutional theory and conducting case/field studies. Public administration researchers from Europe and the USA prefer to study PM design and PM impact respectively, mainly using surveys in combination with various theories, like political theory. Public administration research from the USA examines the types of performance indicators in PM systems and contingent factors for PM design. Public administration research from Europe shows an interest in evaluating public sector reforms like Best Value and explaining learning processes for improvement. We argue that PSPM research could benefit from interdisciplinary efforts and intensified mutual communication between public administration and accounting.     

Why leadership of public leadership research matters: and what to do about it

The tough-talking, take-charge, individualistic view of public leadership is alive and well throughout the world, despite the enthusiasm of leadership scholars for more shared, relational, and collectivist views. The times therefore seem especially appropriate for assessing the state of public leadership theory and research and charting a path forward to enhance understanding of the continued appeal of Great Person leadership and the promise of collective leadership. This essay considers the current public leadership context, highlights distinctive characteristics of public leadership, and provides an overview of recent public leadership research through a collective lens. We call for more attention to leadership theory from within public management and the broader leadership fields and to public value and public values in leadership theorizing and research. We suggest public leadership scholars roam more freely through the disciplines and experiment with a variety of methods beyond the traditional case study.     

Real exchange rate persistence and the excess return puzzle: The case of Switzerland versus the US

The PPP puzzle refers to the wide swings of nominal exchange rates around their long‐run equilibrium values whereas the excess return puzzle represents the persistent deviation of the domestic‐foreign interest rate differential from the expected change in the nominal exchange rate. Using the I(2) cointegrated VAR model, much of the excess return puzzle disappears when an uncertainty premium in the foreign exchange market, proxied by the persistent PPP gap, is introduced. Self‐reinforcing feedback mechanisms seem to cause the persistence in the Swiss‐US parity conditions. These results support imperfect knowledge based expectations rather than so‐called “rational expectations”.     

The end of public housing as we know it: public housing policy,labor regulation and the US city

In this article I argue that the US public housing policy, as codified by the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (QHWRA), is helping to reconfigure the racial and class structure of many inner cities. By promoting the demolition of public housing projects and replacement with mixed‐income housing developments, public housing policy is producing a gentrified inner‐city landscape designed to attract middle and upper‐class people back to the inner city. The goals of public housing policy are also broadly consonant with those of welfare reform wherein the ‘workfare’ system helps to bolster and produce the emergence of contingent low‐wage urban labor markets. In a similar manner, I argue that public housing demonstration programs, such as the ‘Welfare‐to‐Work’ initiative, encourage public housing residents to join the lowwage labor market. Although the rhetoric surrounding the demolition of public housing emphasizes the economic opportunities made available by residential mobility, I argue that former public housing residents are simply being relocated into private housing within urban ghettos. Such a spatial fix to the problems of unemployment and poverty will not solve the problems of inner‐city poverty. Will it take another round of urban riots before we seriously address the legacy of racism and discrimination that has shaped the US city? Cet article démontre que la politique du logement public américaine, telle que la réglemente la Loi de 1998, Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act, contribue à remodeler la structure par races et classes de nombreux quartiers déshérités des centres‐villes. En favorisant la démolition d'ensembles de logements sociaux et leur remplacement par des complexes urbanisés à loyers variés, la politique publique génère un embourgeoisement des centres‐villes destinéà y ramener les classes moyennes et supérieures. Les objectifs de la politique du logement rejoignent largement ceux de la réforme sociale où le système de ‘l'allocation conditionnelle’ facilite et nourrit la création de marchés contingents du travail à bas salaires. De même, les programmes expérimentaux de logements publics, telle l'initiative Welfare‐to‐Work (De l'aide sociale au travail) poussent les habitants des logements sociaux à rejoindre le marchéde la main d'?uvre à bas salaires. Bien que les discours autour de la démolition des logements sociaux mettent en avant les ouvertures économiques créées par la mobilité résidentielle, leurs anciens habitants sont simplement en train d'être déplacés vers des logements privés situés dans des ghettos urbains. Ce genre de solution spatiale aux problèmes du chômage et de la pauvreté ne viendra pas à bout du dénuement des quartiers déshérités du centre. Faudra‐t‐il une autre série d'émeutes urbaines pour que l'on aborde sérieusement l'héritage de racisme et de discrimination qui a façonné les villes américaines?     

Knowledge accumulation in US agriculture: research and learning by doing

Journal of Productivity Analysis - We investigate the role of public research investment (R&D) and learning by doing (LBD) in improving productivity through an empirical examination of the...