The Incidence of Social Security Contributions: An Empirical Analysis

We estimate the effect of social security contributions on wagecosts with sectoral panel data from Eurostat. More than half of the burden of thesecontributions is borne by the employees. Shifting of the burden towards theemployees is more pronounced if the reciprocity between contributions and benefits is stronger. These findings are in line with the predictions derived from anefficient bargaining model.     

The bargaining family revisited

We suggest a family bargaining model where human capital investment decisions are made non-cooperatively in a first stage, while day-to-day allocation of time is determined later through Nash bargaining, but with non-cooperative behaviour as the fall-back. One finding is that overinvestment in education may be even more of a problem in such a semi-cooperative model than in a fully non-cooperative one. Even though both the semi-cooperative model and the fully non-cooperative model predict overinvestment in education, policy conclusions that follow from the two models are distinctly different. JEL Classification: D13, J24
Les auteurs suggèrent un modèle de famille qui marchande où les décisions d'investissement en capital humain sont prises de manière non-coopérative dans un premier temps, alors que l'allocation du temps au jour le jour est déterminée plus tard par un marchandage à la Nash, mais avec un comportement noncoopératif comme choix de second ordre. On découvre que le surinvestissement dans l'éducation peut être encore plus problématique dans un tel modèle de semi-coopération que dans un modèle de non coopération. Même si les deux modèles prévoient un surinves;chtissement dans l'éducation, les conclusions au plan de la politique publique qui découlent de ces deux modèles sont fort différentes.     

Economies of scale in Norwegian electricity distribution: a quantile regression approach

In this article, we investigate scale economies in Norwegian electricity distribution companies using a quantile regression approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to apply this estimation technique when analysing scale economies. We estimate the cost elasticities of the two output components: network length and number of customers, to calculate returns to scale. Our results show large potential of scale economies, particularly for the smallest companies. We also find that returns to scale is increasing over time. These findings have important implications for policymakers when they are deciding the structure of the industry in the future.     

Stock prices and inflation hedged firms

As the Federal Reserve continues its near-zero rate policy, the threat of inflation remains a concern among both policymakers and businesses. This article uses over 30 years of accounting data and stock returns to examine how publicly traded firms respond to increasing inflation expectations. We first examine whether firms make balance sheet adjustments in response to expected inflation. We then examine whether these activities have a positive effect on stock prices. We find that firms increase inventory, increase capital expenditures and reduce long-term debt when there is an increased expectation of inflation. We then find that firms that increase inventory in this economic regime are rewarded in the market. Markets also reward firms that increase their cash positions and reduce long-term debt possibly suggesting investor flight to safety.     

The politics of Europe 2002: flexibility and adjustment

The European Union entered a new phase of integration in 2002. The single currency, the European Convention, and enlargement signalled progress. The conflict over the Stability and Growth Pact, the tensions between the member states, and the political turmoil in a number of core countries suggested retreat. This paper examines the resulting pattern of integration. It argues that the European Union is becoming more legalistic than leader‐oriented, and that it rests on common principles rather than accepting the imposition of some grand design. Such a European Union cannot challenge the United States for global leadership. But it is likely to prove stable nonetheless.     

Dynamics of regional unemployment rates in Brazil: Fractional behavior,structural breaks,and Markov switching

This paper investigates unemployment dynamics in Brazil and in its major metropolitan regions using a fractional integration model. Aspects regarding structural breaks and regime switches are discussed as well. To do that, the methods proposed by Hassler and Meller (2009) and Tsay and Härdle (2009) are used. The major results indicate that unemployment rates have two different levels of persistence. The first one is nonstationary whereas the second one is nonstationary but mean-reverting. Based on these findings, the convergence hypothesis of regional unemployment rates was tested. Following the fractional stochastic convergence criterion put forward by Mello and Guimaraes-Filho (2007), it was concluded that regional unemployment rates are convergent.     

The theory and practice of workload control: A research agenda and implementation strategy

The Workload Control (WLC) concept is one of few Production Planning and Control (PPC) solutions appropriate for Make-To-Order (MTO) companies yet its successful implementation is an enduring challenge. Most implementations reported are in large organisations yet it has been argued that WLC is particularly suitable for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) with limited financial resources. Moreover, previous studies do not adequately describe the process through which implementation success was achieved. In this paper, data collected through semi-structured face-to-face interviews with key personnel from 41 companies is presented in order to build up a body of evidence on the characteristics of MTO SMEs that affect WLC implementation. The data paints a complex picture of MTO production and suggests that research is likely to be required to move theory closer to practice and organisational change to move practice closer to theory. The former is recommended where processes perform well or appear difficult to change; the latter is recommended where fundamental WLC principles are involved. Two outputs emerge from the study: (1) a research agenda for refining the WLC concept to improve alignment between theory and practice, covering the customer enquiry, order entry, design and engineering and order release stages; and (2) an implementation strategy, including elements of organisational change and covering pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation stages. The characteristics of MTO SMEs identified should be used in future research to develop more realistic simulations for testing conceptual refinements while field research should apply and extend the implementation strategy presented in order to develop a more detailed roadmap for successful WLC implementation in practice.