A small forward-looking inter-country model (Belarus, Russia and Ukraine)

The paper describes an inter-country model developed on the New Keynesian Phillips curve principle for the economies of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Technically the modelling idea has been grounded within the concept of the infinite dimensional vector autoregressive models by Chudik and Pesaran [Chudik A., Pesara M.H., 2007. Infinite-dimensional VAR's and factor models. IZA; DP No. 3206]. The main developments are such that the model is 1) interdependent rather than vector autoregressive, 2) estimated by the generalised method of moments and 3) forward-looking. The primary linkage of the country models is provided through the real effective exchange rates of particular countries, while the secondary linkages are through the Chudik and Pesaran cross-sectional augmentations. A series of Monte Carlo experiments confirms that the small cross-dimension of the model and a possible dominance of one country in the panel (Russia) should not distort the results in a significant way. A series of stochastic simulation experiments made with and without the assumption of observational equivalence principle shows a possible spread of the Dutch Disease from Russia to other countries in the model.     

Consumer support for environmental policies: An application to purchases of green cars

This paper focuses on how consumer motivation can be tapped in order to encourage the adoption of cleaner technologies. Consumers are heterogeneous — they may be guided by intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation. While information provision policies (such as the energy label for cars) may be effective in encouraging certain consumers to adopt green cars, financial incentive schemes (such as subsidies or fines) may be more persuasive for extrinsically-motivated consumers. We develop a dynamic theory of adoption of environmental innovations, in which information-provision policies are followed by financial incentives (first ‘carrot’, then ‘stick’ incentives). Analysis of a survey dataset of Swiss households observes considerable heterogeneity in terms of support of information-provision or financial incentive policies, in line with our conjectures. Our results will be of particular interest to policymakers interested in guiding consumers towards cleaner technologies.     

Expected Practices in Background Checking: Review of the Human Resource Management Literature

In recent years we have seen a growing attention to the issue of background checks. Research on pre-employment inquires suggests that job candidates engage in extensive misrepresentation of academic and work credentials listed on resumes and job applications. An employer who fails to perform a thorough background check on a prospective employee may be vulnerable to the charges of negligent hiring or employment discrimination. Based on a review of the scientific and professional literature in human resource management, we defined expected management practices in background checking including the need to understand the job requirements, methods of background checks, the extensiveness of the background checks, the role of the application forms, and the use of interviews. Recent legal cases are also included to illustrate what practices are or are not defensible.

The role of biomass energy consumption and economic complexity on environmental sustainability in G7 economies

This paper empirically examines the effect of biomass energy consumption and economic complexity on environmental sustainability in G7 economies. The current study attempts to report a comprehensive analysis of biomass energy and economic complexity on ecological and carbon footprints and carbon emissions. We employ data from 1990 to 2019 and adopt robust panel econometric techniques that account for the analysis's cross-sectional dependence. We conduct cointegration analysis, pooled ordinary least squares (OLS), system generalized method of moments (GMM) and conditional quantile model for our empirical analysis. The empirical findings show that both biomass energy consumption and economic complexity are detrimental to the ecological footprint and carbon footprint. Additionally, we find that globalization positively affects the environment, while we find some evidence that bureaucratic quality improves environmental quality. Finally, in line with other research, we find that economic growth has detrimental effects on the environment. Our results suggest that policymakers should be more cautious in promoting biomass as a clean energy source and that the G7 economies should take advantage of their leading position in innovation to invest more in sustainable practices and investment.     

WHO WANTS PATERNALISM?

Little is known about the demand side of paternalism. We investigate attitudes towards paternalism among Danish students. The main question is whether demand for paternalism is related to self‐control, either because people with self‐control problems seek commitment devices to overcome these problems, or because people with good self‐control want those who lack it to change their behaviours. We find no evidence linking self‐control to attitudes towards weak forms of paternalism (e.g., nudges or information about health consequences). But respondents with good self‐control are significantly more favourable towards strong paternalism (e.g., restricting choices or sin taxes) than those struggling with self‐control.     

Hiring Risky Workers: Some Evidence

Lazear recently suggested that firms that do not expect to live for a long time will hire only safe workers. Hence their worker turnover will be lower. In this paper we test this hypothesis using both the industry growth rate and industry-average age of establishments as measures of the horizon for a particular firm. We find mixed results, both at the industry level and at the establishment level. Establishments in growing industries do indeed exhibit higher churning flows, but a high average age of establishments reduces rather than increases churning.     

HIGH AND LOW EARNINGS JOBS: THE FORTUNES OF EMPLOYERS AND WORKERS

The focus of the literature on the effect of job changes has been on the consequences of job destruction on the individual worker. In this paper we analyze the impact on the earnings distribution of both job creation and job destruction. We establish a link between job reallocation and the movement of workers into and out of the tails of the earnings distribution. Both job creating and job destroying employers shed jobs mostly from the middle and lower tails of the earnings distribution, although this is cyclically very sensitive. Labor mobility (triggered by job reallocation) is risky: mobile workers will generally end up in the upper or lower tail of the distribution rather than in the middle. If workers move across industry boundaries, they typically move to the lower tails of the distribution. In sum, the fortunes of workers depend on the fortunes of their employers.