Labour-Market Developments at a Time of Heightened Uncertainty

These are testing times for labour-market policies in Indonesia. The country faces two major challenges in an unpredictable international and domestic environment: providing people with better, more secure jobs and raising productivity to help raise living standards and reduce poverty. Over the past several months, new global and domestic threats to economic growth have emerged and may hinder progress in jobs and productivity. In the longer term, the government is searching for new strategies to increase productivity, with a focus on supply-side investments in skills and training. In relation to events abroad, uncertainty has increased over the early initiatives taken by the new US president and his nationalist administration, such as the scuttling of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. At home, likely to be of some significance for economic policy are mass actions that were levelled against Jakarta’s governor but de facto also directed against the government. In the medium term, our assessment of the record of the Joko Widodo (Jokowi) government on the labour market is mixed. Over the past two years, growth has been slower than under the previous administration and hence job creation has also been muted. The experience of a handful of countries in Asia suggests that the government might have done more to stimulate economic growth and create jobs. The disappointing performance of manufacturing stands out. Yet inflation has fallen and the slide in the value of international trade—both exports and imports—has reversed in recent months. Improved fiscal management and a generally successful tax amnesty are other pluses. There was also an unexpected but considerable fall in unemployment in 2015–16, according to labour-force statistics. Some policies, such as the new approach to minimum wages, seem to have had beneficial effects for both business and the economy, and Indonesia has done well in some international rankings, such as the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index. However, the picture for the medium to longer term seems less bright for the labour market. There has been much talk about raising productivity by improving skills through government support for investment in training and apprenticeships, as well as by expanding vocational training along the lines of the German model. Expanding tourism is seen as one solution to the lack of employment for young secondary- and tertiary-educated jobseekers. But we have an impression of policy-making on the run; often, the argument for government intervention has not been made clearly enough. We argue that Indonesia still lacks a coherent, well-thought-out plan to increase jobs and productivity.     

Relationships among consumer vanity,gender, brand sensitivity,brand consciousness and private self‐consciousness

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among consumer vanity, gender, brand sensitivity, brand consciousness and private self‐consciousness within a context of social comparison theory. The four dimensions of consumer vanity are concern for and positive view of physical appearance and concern for and positive view of achievement. Participants were 400 college students (284 women; 116 men). Participants above the median in three of the four dimensions of vanity (except vanity achievement view) were more sensitive to and more conscious of brand names. Participants above (vs. below) the median in vanity achievement view scored higher on private self‐consciousness. Women scored higher on brand sensitivity, brand consciousness and private self‐consciousness than men. There was a significant correlation between brand sensitivity and brand consciousness. Results support the notion that consumers’ decisions, especially regarding brand names, may be guided by vanity‐related concerns and views.     

Socio‐demographic factors and shared leadership behaviors in dispersed teams: Implications for human resource management

Companies increasingly make use of geographically dispersed teams to capture knowledge residing at different locations. In this context, shared leadership is considered a key enabler of team performance. Taking a functional perspective on shared leadership, we thus investigate the relationship between shared leadership behaviors and team performance in dispersed teams. Furthermore, we analyze how socio‐demographic factors that are characteristic for dispersed teams (i.e., high female‐to‐male ratio, high mean age, and high levels of national diversity) affect shared leadership behaviors. Based on data from 96 dispersed teams, we show that shared leadership behavior fosters team performance. Further, we find the socio‐demographic characteristics typical for dispersed teams to foster shared leadership. Theoretical and managerial implications for human resource management are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Social networks and electronic commerce in China∗

Communications technologies that make up the emerging global information infrastructure have the power to regulate online behavior. Social networks in Chinese society have survived the growth of formal legal institutions and liberalization of China's economy, but it is not clear whether they can survive the regulatory pressures created by global information technology networks. The spread of electronic commerce technologies in China may strengthen legal institutions and open local markets to international competition, but is likely to be resisted by all the same interests that resist those changes in other contexts. The Chinese response to the spread of electronic commerce might take several forms: assimilation; marginalization; or localization of new forms of commercial activity that rely on new technologies.     

Influences on technology strategy in the uk oil- and gas-related industry network

In the course of the last 25 years the UK has seen the emergence of a new, technologically advanced network of organisations underpinning the technical needs of the oil and gas extraction industry.The euolution of this industy network has taken place within a public policy framework which has had too central objectives: to maximize UK industrial involvement in the industry and to maximize. North Sea oil and gas extraction. The extent to which this framework has encouraged the development of new, technology-based firms has not been systematical stuided. This study examines the extent of indigenous incoltlement in the network and the influence of the currrent pressures of economic and policy changes on the performance and strategic planning of these compnies.     

来博弈吧!

正经济学家长久以来一直在用博弈论理解世界。如今,工程师和计算机科学家也正在用这个理论重新构思他们的工作。你和一同犯下重大抢劫案的同伙都被警察抓获了,并且被关进不同的房间进行审问。如果你们两个都对犯罪保持沉默,就会被以较轻的罪名判处一年徒刑。如果你们两个都坦白交代,就都会坐5年牢。但是,如果你     

Individual efficiency and club performance: a panel analysis of professional baseball

This paper investigates whether players' individual‐ and club‐level efficiency has substantial impact on club performance in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Using data from 1990 to 2000, and a stochastic frontier model, we propose a different way to measure club‐level efficiency. Our empirical results indicate that club‐level efficiency is crucial to club performance, measured by the winning percentage. Although the literature shows that some inefficient clubs with abundant resources are still very successful on the diamond, our results confirm that club‐level efficiency has a moderate impact on the success of a baseball club in the CPBL. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Economic importance and statistical significance: Guidelines for communicating empirical research

Abstract

A critical objective for many empirical studies is a thorough evaluation of both substantive importance and statistical significance. Feminist economists have critiqued neoclassical economics studies for an excessive focus on statistical machinery at the expense of substantive issues. Drawing from the ongoing debate about the rhetoric of economic inquiry and significance tests, this paper examines approaches for presenting empirical results effectively to ensure that the analysis is accurate, meaningful, and relevant for the conceptual and empirical context. To that end, it demonstrates several measurement issues that affect the interpretation of economic significance and are commonly overlooked in empirical studies. This paper provides guidelines for clearly communicating two distinct aspects of “significance” in empirical research, using prose, tables, and charts based on OLS, logit, and probit regression results. These guidelines are illustrated with samples of ineffective writing annotated to show weaknesses, followed by concrete examples and explanations of improved presentation.