The Relationship between Output and Unemployment with Efficiency Wages

Abstract. We construct a stylised model of the supply side with goods and labour market imperfections to show that an economy can rationally operate at a low-effort state in which the relationship between output and unemployment is positive. We examine data from the G7 countries over 1960–2001 and find that only German data strongly favour a persistent negative relationship between the level of output and rate of unemployment. The consequence of this is that circumstances exist in which market imperfections could pose serious obstacles to the smooth working of expansionary and/or stabilisation policies and a positive demand shock might have adverse effects on employment.     

The judicious use and management of humor in the workplace

Everybody loves humor. In the workplace, it can provide such benefits as stress relief, team unification, employee motivation, idea generation, and frustration diffusion through venting. Despite these positives, it should be stressed that humor in this context has downsides, as well. For example, humor can distract us from the job at hand, hurt our credibility, or cause offense in increasingly diverse work settings. In the midst of this complicated situation stand managers, who occupy a position of responsibility for both the good and bad effects of humor in the workplace. It is the intention of this article to use existing humor theory and a simple model to generate a more analytical understanding of humorous interaction. Suggestions are then offered as to how to use humor and manage the use of humor in such a way as to maximize its benefits, while minimizing its dangers.     

The political economy of participation in IMF programs: a disaggregated empirical analysis

What factors determine whether or not countries have programs with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)? The existing literature suggests that a number of economic and political variables are important, but there is disagreement about their relative significance. Moreover, the fit of general participation models is not particularly good. An increasingly popular view in the recent literature is that the pattern of IMF lending is politically driven and that it reflects the interests of the Fund’s leading shareholders; the US is seen as exerting a powerful influence. Using both quantitative and qualitative techniques, and based on an informal analytical framework, we examine in detail the factors that may be at work. We cover the period from 1984 to 2008. We discover considerable variation across the nature of programs (concessional and non-concessional), income levels, geographic regions, and time periods. The degree of observed variation means that it is unsafe to use one general participation model as the basis for evaluating the effects of IMF programs. It also means that the design of policy needs to reflect the nuances that the data reveal.     

Inducements,Impediments, and Immediacy: Exploring the Cognitive Drivers of Small Business Managers' Intentions to Adopt Business Model Change

Small business managers rely on judgment and heuristics when making critical strategic decisions. We explore this phenomenon, expanding the theory on cognition and strategy to explain the cognitive determinants of strategic decisions leading to small firm business model change. We integrate existing theories (entrepreneurial opportunity exploitation, cognitive resilience, prospect theory, behavioral theory of the firm, threat‐rigidity) into a framework explaining strategic intentions, based on managers' perception of business opportunity interacting with assessment of the external environment, current performance, and prior experience. The framework is empirically tested in the context of Canadian real estate brokerage industry, facing potentially major disruptive change.     

如何在中国汽车市场胜出

汽车制造公司要想在中国成为赢家，应对以下5点给予格外关注：加深对中国消费者对产品需求的理解：建立经济且适用的分销网络；引入先进品牌经验；保持合理成本结构；迅速与适当的伙伴建立相应的业务关系。     

Delaying the Normal and Early Retirement Ages in Spain: Behavioural and Welfare Consequences for Employed and Unemployed Workers

In this paper, we explore the links between pension reform, early retirement, and the use of unemployment as an alternative pathway to retirement. We use a dynamic rational expectations model to analyze the search and retirement behaviour of employed and unemployed workers aged 50 or over. The model is calibrated to reproduce the main reemployment and retirement patterns observed between 2002 and 2008 in Spain. It is subsequently used to analyze the effects of the 2011 pension reform in Spain, characterized by 2-year delays in both the early and the normal retirement ages. We find that this reform generates large increases in labour supply and sizable cuts in pension costs, but these are achieved at the expense of very large welfare losses, especially among unemployed workers. As an alternative, we propose leaving the early retirement age unchanged, but penalizing the minimum pension (reducing its generosity in parallel to the cuts imposed on individual pension benefits, and making it more actuarially fair with age). This alternative reform strikes a better balance between individual welfare and labour supply stimulus.     

评估“正确”的风险

正董事会会议中经常会传来这样的声音:我们所要冒的险值得吗?尤其是在战略对话中,这个问题看似简单、常见,但答案却不简单无论管理层和董事会是否意识到,风险隐藏于任何组织的战略里,潜伏在你所做的一切决定中:拓展新市场;引进新产品;购买生产线;筹建新厂房;投资未知的研发活动等。一个公司的战略方向和执行战略方向的能力是这次冒险之旅能否成功的关键。因此,风险评估应该是战略制定过程中不可或缺的一部分。     

Latin America after the global crisis: the role of export-led and tradable-led growth regimes

Is the ongoing economic slowdown in industrialized countries likely to impact Latin American growth negatively in the medium- to long-run? This paper considers various transmission channels that work through trade in goods and services, and finds econometric evidence suggesting that shrinking global imbalances may create problems for Latin America. Specifically, using panel data analysis, we find that the trade balance as a proportion of GDP is positively associated with Latin American economic growth over the period 1953–2009. We then develop a simple dynamic model to help explain our main finding through investment and saving behaviour.