Human capital and fertility in Chinese clans before modern growth

This paper studies the effect of changes in the return to human capital on the fertility–education relationship. The setting is in Anhui Province, China in the thirteenth to twentieth centuries. Over this period, key changes occurred in the civil service examination system, providing a means to test whether incentives for acquiring education influenced fertility decisions. I form an intergenerationally linked dataset from over 43,000 individuals from all social strata to examine the evidence for a child quantity–quality tradeoff. First, as the civil service examination system became more predictable and less discretionary starting in the seventeenth century, raising the return to human capital, I find evidence that households with a lower number of children had a higher chance that one of their sons would participate in the state examinations. This finding is robust to accounting for differences in resources, health, parental human capital, and demographic characteristics. Importantly, the finding is not limited to a small subset of rich households but present in the sample as a whole. Second, the negative relationship between fertility and education disappeared as the lower chance to become an official during the nineteenth century implied a decline in the return to human capital. Taken together, my findings support the hypothesis that fertility choices respond to changes in the return to human capital.     

HR managers as toxin handlers: The buffering effect of formalizing toxin handling responsibilities

Toxin handlers are organizational members who help colleagues manage negative emotions in the workplace. Although toxin handling activities help distressed employees remain productive, they put the toxin handler at risk of emotional exhaustion. In this research, more than 400 HR managers described their experience managing emotionally charged employee problems. We found that formalizing toxin handling responsibilities provided a buffering effect: HR managers whose organizations had made handling emotionally charged employee problems a formal part of HR responsibilities experienced lower levels of emotional exhaustion and perceived HR as more effective, even when they engaged in high levels of toxin handling. Formalizing toxin handling responsibilities may protect HR managers from harm and ensure that they maintain the toxin handling function in their organizations. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Audience Segmentation of Kentucky Mothers by Nonparticipation Status in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,Infants, and Children

We identify women most and least likely to discontinue participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. Kentucky WIC program management information system data from 2012 to 2013 was explored through a retrospective cohort study. Audience segmentation identified unique groups with respect to nonparticipation. Presumptive eligibility for Medicaid was the strongest predictor of nonparticipation. Among those who were not presumptively eligible, women who were the only ones in their households enrolled in the program were at higher risk of nonparticipation. Outreach strategies at the point of enrollment or when presumptive eligibility for Medicaid is granted could mitigate further nonparticipation.     

ELECTRONIC DISSEMINATION EXPERIENCES OF THE U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

This paper describes the experiences of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) in the electronic dissemination of its statistical products. Section I describes the institutional setting. Section 11, the heart of the paper, is based on a review BEA recently undertook with a view to improving its procedures and policies for disseminating its information to the public. Section III draws conclusions from the review and raises some questions as a basis for comparisons among agencies.     

Stock price reactions to increases in loan-loss reserves: A broader perspective

Loan loss reserves (LLR) provide a cushion to absorb operating losses. Several studies have focused on the market's reaction to increases in LLR in response to a specific event related to the international debt crisis. This study takes a broader view of LLR by examining, over a six year period, the market's reaction to announcements of increases to LLR that are above the expected annual reserve and that are a result of factors other than the international debt crisis. We find a negative reaction in the market, indicating that the negative signal from identifying unanticipated risk in the loan portfolio appears to dominate the positive cash flow effects.     

Jardine Matheson & Company: The Role of External Organization in a Nineteenth-Century Trading Firm

Jardine Matheson & Company, a Hong Kong conglomerate foundedin 1832, has survived political upheaval and global and regionaleconomic crises, transforming itself several times. From theirbeginnings in the commission business, William Jardine and JamesMatheson developed a reputation for sound financial managementthat furthered their trading relationships and supported theirfirm's expansion from agency house to managing agent to investmenthouse between 1832 and 1885. Fundamental to Jardine Matheson'ssuccess was the strategic decision to eschew speculation andto concentrate on building a pattern of relationships withinand outside the business that would foster the flow of information,the knowledge with which to interpret it, the ability to influenceothers, and a reputation for probity that would attract andretain trading partners.