INEQUALITY OF WAGE RATES,EARNINGS AND FAMILY INCOME IN THE UNITED STATES, 1975–2002

This paper analyzes distributional changes over the last quarter of the twentieth century. We focus on four distinct distributions: the distribution of hourly wage rates, the distribution of annual earnings of individuals, the distribution of annual earnings of families, and the distribution of total family income adjusted for family size. Both male wage rate inequality and family income inequality accelerated during the early 1980s, increased at a slower rate through the early 1990s and then stabilized at a high level through the early 2000s. The similarity in the timing of changes in these two distributions has been used as evidence that increased family income inequality primarily reflects increased inequality of wage rates. We show that other important factors were also at work.     

STATE-LEVEL BASIC WAGES IN AUSTRALIA DURING THE DEPRESSION, 1929–35: INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICS OVER MARKETS

State wage-fixation tribunals developed quite particular patterns of basic wage fixation during the Depression. They declined to follow the Commonwealth Court's 10 per cent wage cut, thereby confining its effect to about half the workforce and creating distinctly different State and Commonwealth basic wage patterns in each capital city. Further, tribunals' uneven patterns of basic wage adjustment to deflation meant that in some states, the real State basic wage increased. Patterns of state institutional behaviour and state politics therefore help explain the stickiness of real average wage levels during the Depression.     

From Experience Dreams to Market: Crafting a Culture of Innovation

Do certain common principles guide uncommonly innovative companies down the risk-riddled road to value creation? Or do successful innovators break boldly through the barriers to new product development along pathways of their own unique making? Karen Anne Zien and Sheldon Buckler discern a strikingly consistent model of how companies craft and sustain cultures in which innovation is nurtured, rewarded, even demanded. An article by the authors in the September 1996 issue of JPIM recounts seminal tales from the cultures of innovation consciously nourished by 12 leading-edge corporations in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Gathered through an extensive series of interviews with key personnel in the management, technical, manufacturing, and marketing divisions of each firm, the stories revealed seven traits widely shared from one company to the next, irrespective of business focus, geography, or nationality. These traits, as discussed in this article, not only serve to reconcile the culturally contradictory demands of the three critical stages of innovation—the “fuzzy front end,” the product development process, and marketplace operations—but also condition the company as a whole to sustain its innovative capacity over time. The principles at work in highly innovative companies encompass corporate as well as individual attitudes and behaviors. On the one hand, company leaders demonstrate in every decision, action, and communication that innovation propels profitability. So, for the CD project at Sony, the R&D general manager heeded “a voice from above that does not question the possibilities and absolutely believes” in the potential of the enterprise. On the other hand, actively helping individuals create a linkage between their “work life” and longer term “life work” is a crucial step in generating an environment where innovation and high productivity flourish together. Thus, a divisional chief executive at ICI/Imperial Chemicals Industries recognizes the need to “create an environment where people will work at what they are best at doing and what they like doing best.” Although the trail to successful innovation inevitably follows the unique contours of any company's environment, some universal guideposts point the way.     

The state of mathematics education today: what happens in the math classroom

The article discusses the efforts that have been made over the last two decades to reform the mathematics curriculum to better serve the needs of partner disciplines such as economics.     

DETERMINATION OF PARTICIPATION DECISION, HIRING DECISION, AND WAGES IN A DOUBLE SELECTION FRAMEWORK: MALE-FEMALE WAGE DIFFERENTIALS IN THE U.S. LABOR MARKET REVISITED

The magnitude of the male-female wage differential is known to be highly sensitive to the specification of the wage equations used. An important source of misspecification is the failure to correct the sample selection bias that results from estimating the wage equation obtained through two sequential decisions: the worker's decision to participate in the labor market and the employer's decision to hire. Estimation of the wage equation ignoring this double selection process leads to biased estimates, and consequently the resulting male-female wage differentials are likely to be misleading. Following a double selection approach and using a sample from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this article examines the determinants of not only the wage equation but also the worker's participation and the employer's hiring decisions in both male and female samples. The study further demonstrates that the unexplained male-female wage differential remains underestimated when the roles of both selection decisions are ignored in the estimation of wage equations.     

The Value Relevance of International Financial Reporting Standards: Empirical Evidence in an Emerging Market

This study examines the value relevance of accounting information under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange (ADX, henceforth). Based on models developed by Easton and Harris (1991), and Ohlson (1995) and using monthly market data from 2000 to 2006, this paper investigates the value relevance of accounting information of firms traded on the ADX. Our overall results show that earnings scaled by beginning of period price are positively and significantly related to cumulative returns and that earnings per share and book value per share are positively and significantly related to price per share. We also find that value relevance of accounting information has changed since the market inception in 2000. The results documented herein extend the literature on value relevance accounting information in an emerging market that requires the use of IFRS. The study therefore contributes to the debate over the mandatory adoption of IFRS and the value relevance of accounting information reported under IFRS.