EFFECTS OF LABOR REALLOCATION ON PRODUCTIVITY AND INEQUALITY—INSIGHTS FROM STUDIES ON TRANSITION

From a theoretical perspective, the link between the speed and scope of rapid labor reallocation and productivity growth or income inequality is ambiguous. Do reallocations with more flows tend to produce higher productivity growth? Does such a link appear at the expense of higher income inequality? We explore the rich evidence from earlier studies on worker flows in the period of massive and rapid labor reallocation, that is, the economic transition from a centrally planned to a market-oriented economy in CEE. We have collected over 450 estimates of job flows from the literature and used these inputs to estimate the short-run and long-run relationship between labor market flows, labor productivity, and income inequality. We apply the tools typical for a meta-analysis to verify the empirical regularities between labor flows and productivity growth as well as income inequality. Our findings suggest only weak and short-term links with productivity, driven predominantly by business cycles. However, data reveal a strong pattern for income inequality in the short run—more churning during reallocation is associated with a level effect toward increased Gini indices.     

The Timing of Environmental Policy: A Note on the Role of Product Differentiation

We examine the role that product differentiation can play in the design of environmental policy under full commitment and no commitment on the part of the environmental regulator. We consider a setting with two firms selling a differentiated product which generates pollution through emissions. Firms can reduce their emissions by undertaking abatement activities while an environmental regulator taxes emissions. The main results are: (1) When products are highly differentiated, the optimal time-consistent (no commitment) tax is always lower than the optimal pre-commitment tax. As the degree of product differentiation decreases, for relatively efficient abatement technology and high damages, the time-consistent emission tax exceeds the optimal pre-commitment one. (2) Abatement when product differentiation is extensive is higher under the time-consistent regime unless the abatement technology is extremely efficient. The same ranking applies to social welfare. However, as products become more and more similar, these results are (partially) reversed and pre-commitment could lead to both higher levels of abatement and welfare.     

UNPREPARED FOR FINANCIAL SHOCKS: EMERGENCY SAVINGS AND CREDIT CARD DEBT

We measure readiness to face emergency expenses using data from a representative survey of U.S. consumers. Our main findings are as follows: (1) there is substantial heterogeneity in financial readiness, with lowest‐income, least‐educated, unemployed, and Black consumers most likely to have $0 saved for emergency expenses; (2) the amount of emergency savings is correlated with payment choice: Less financially prepared individuals use cash more and credit cards less, compared to those with higher emergency savings; (3) while people with low emergency savings rely more on cash than credit cards, they revolve more debt, and so a financial shock is costlier for them; (4) changes in income from one year to the next do not appear to affect the likelihood of revolving on credit cards or increase the amount borrowed, although the data were collected before the COVID‐19 pandemic. For those with little or no savings and already financially vulnerable, even a temporary financial shock—an unexpected negative income shock (such as a layoff or a short‐term government shutdown) or an unexpected expenditure (such as a medical expense or a car repair)—could have severe financial consequences, exacerbated by the high cost of borrowing on credit cards. (JEL D12, D14, D15, E21)     

Das organisationspsychologische Fairness-Konstrukt im Marketing

Zusammenfassung  Wir geben einen überblick, wie Fairness als zentrales sozial- und organisationspsychologisches Konstrukt in der aktuellen Marketingforschung rezipiert wird. In der Konstruktgeschichte haben sich vier Dimensionen von Fairness (distributive, prozedurale, informationale, interpersonale) ausdifferenziert. In einer bibliometrischen Analyse strukturieren wir den gegenw?rtigen Fairnessdiskurs im Marketing. Anhand von 205 internationalen Zeitschriftenartikeln identifizieren wir vier relevante Themenkomplexe: Beschwerdemanagement, Preisfairness, intraorganisationale Fairness im Marketing-Kontext sowie Fairness und Vertrauen in Gesch?ftsbeziehungen. Diese Subdiskurse verdeutlichen, auf welchen Themengebieten die Marketingforschung durch Rezeption des Fairness-Konstrukts bereits bereichert wurde. Zugleich lassen sie aber weitere Differenzierungsm?glichkeiten erkennen.

Rule of Law and Rules‐Lawyering: Legal Corruption and ‘Reprivatization Business’ in Warsaw

Delving into the nexus between the state and informality, this paper discusses the informality of the legal and judicial systems. Produced by structurally powerful actors, this kind of informality is not so much legitimized by the law, but concealed within the very process of legitimization. To capture how legal engineering welds formalized laws with informal translations, I look at judicial outcomes that, while formally legal, are socially delegitimized and perceived as legal corruption. After analysing the contested judicial outcomes of Warsaw's ‘reprivatization’ process (property restitution), I define the mechanism of legal corruption as rules‐lawyering, by which I mean an attempt to gain legal advantage by obsessively sticking to the written laws, while deliberately desecrating its spirit. I describe three of its mechanisms: appropriation, redefinition and fraud laundering. Finally, in my preliminary vivisection of the recent and ongoing process of delegalizing the legal corruption that has been part of the reprivatization process, all the allied concepts of this forum come together to demonstrate the essential inseparability of informality and state.     

Intra-provincial inequalities and economic growth in China

This paper approaches the problem of inequalities in China. It is specifically focused on analyzing the effects of intra-provincial disparities on the development of the 28 mainland provinces in China. Intra-provincial inequalities, as measured by the Theil index, seem positively related to growth, albeit the results are only convincing for the coastal provinces. A case-by-case analysis, however, suggests highly diversified patterns, including linear or an inverted U-shape for the fastest growing coastal provinces and virtually no relationship for the majority of regions. The results corroborate some questions raised earlier about actual policy-making standards in China.     

Cost management and corporate payout decisions

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - We investigate the relationship between cost management and dividend payout decisions. Prior studies document that firms with consistent earnings or...     

The Role and Current Status of IFRS in the Completion of National Accounting Rules – Evidence from Poland

ABSTRACT

We outline the process of implementation of the accounting Directive 2013/34/EU by the Republic of Poland in the context of references to IFRS. The purpose of the article is to determine to what extent IFRS are used by actors taking part in the legislative and enforcement processes. The accounting regulation in Poland comprises an act of Parliament and the regulations of the Ministry of Finance. As a result the regulation is relatively succinct and many elements present in IFRS are not covered, while the issues of record-keeping and verification of accounting documentation receive more attention. A review of the responses to a call for opinions reveals that IFRS are rarely mentioned.     

Explaining adoption and use of payment instruments by US consumers

Motivated by recent policy intervention into payments markets, we develop and estimate a structural model of adoption and use of payment instruments by U.S. consumers. Our structural model differentiates between the adoption and use of payment instruments. We evaluate substitution among payment instruments and welfare implications. Cash is the most significant substitute to debit cards in retail settings, whereas checks are the most significant in bill‐pay settings. Furthermore, low income consumers lose proportionally more than high income consumers when debit cards become more expensive, whereas the reverse is true when credit cards do.     

Infrastructure endowment,financial constraints and willingness to engage in PPPs: The case of Poland

Public-private partnership (PPP) is widely considered to be a solution to overcoming a public infrastructure gap while providing value for money. A growing body of empirical research papers suggests that value for money is not the only reason for a government setting up PPPs. This paper presents a detailed analysis of why local municipalities in Poland have chosen the PPP route to develop public infrastructure.

IMPACT

Government’s investment opportunities are often restricted by debt limits. That is why a PPP can be an attractive solution. Municipalities in Poland seem to opt for PPPs to keep their debt figures low. There is a risk that they are choosing the PPP route for the wrong reasons. Therefore we suggest that legislation is needed that requires greater financial transparency of PPP projects. This could help verify whether PPPs are being compiled according to EUROSTAT rules and to assess if PPP really is the best available option in terms of value for money.