Labor unemployment risk and firm risk

This paper examines the effect of labor unemployment risk on firm risk. Using unemployment insurance benefits as a proxy for unemployment risk, we find an economically significant positive relation between unemployment risk and firm risk. This positive relation is more pronounced for firms that are more labor-intensive, have a higher layoff propensity and are more financially constrained. While existing literature that employs corporate policy measures such as debt and cash holdings suggests an opposite relationship, our paper presents evidence that the effects stemming from earnings management, earnings quality and reporting quality appear to dominate.     

Public-private sector wage differentials in Germany: Evidence from quantile regression

This paper measures and decomposes the differences in earnings distributions between public sector and private sector employees in Germany for the years 1984–2001. Oaxaca decomposition results suggest that conditional wages are higher in the public sector for women but lower for men. Using the quantile regression decomposition technique proposed by Machado and Mata (2004), we find that the conditional distribution of wages is more compressed in the public sector. At the low end of wages, differences in characteristics explain less than the raw wage gap when it is the opposite at high wages. Separate analyses by work experience and educational groups reveal that the most experienced employees and those with basic schooling do best in the public sector. All these results are stable over the 80s and 90s.I thank Michael Lechner and the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, for letting me work with the full sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). I am grateful to an anonymous referee and particularly to the editor, Bernd Fitzenberger, for providing me detail comments and suggestions that have significantly improved the paper. I have also benefited from discussions with Michael Lechner and Ruth Miquel.First version received: April 2002/Final version received: June 2004     

Economic liberalization and welfare in a model with an informal sector

The paper reexamines the conventional results relating to inflow of foreign capital, removal of protectionism and structural reform programmes, in a small open economy in terms of a two-sector general equilibrium model with an informal sector. The paper shows that in the presence of labour market distortion and a protectionist policy, inflow of foreign capital may be desirable irrespective of the pattern of trade of the economy due to its favourable impact on welfare. But the welfare implications of tariff reductions and/or structural adjustment programmes, such as deregulating the formal sector labour market, depend crucially on the economy's trade pattern. The paper provides an answer to the question as to whether in a developing economy labour market reform and tariff reform should go hand-in-hand or whether one should precede the other for welfare improvement.
JEL classification: F10, F13, F21, O17.     

On wage- and profit-led demand regimes: learning from the evidence

Abstract

This paper contributes to the empirical research around the “wage-led” or “profit-led” demand regimes. It first reviews how Kalecki, and then Steindl, approached the relationship between economic growth and income distribution. Then, empirical analysis carried out under the probabilistic approach to econometric modeling shows statistical evidence, estimated through cointegration analysis, that in the long run, in three very open economies—Mexico, France, and Korea—the wage share is positively associated with demand and output. It finally discusses the macroeconomic dilemma that almost all countries have to face, i.e., a positive effect of a high-wage policy on demand and employment may diverge from a negative effect on output compatible with external equilibrium.     

Growth,Employment and Taxation with Distortions in the Goods and Labour Market

Abstract. This paper analyses taxation in the presence of distortions in goods and labour markets in an endogenous growth model. The government disposes of capital, labour and consumption taxes. It is shown that the market solution leads to suboptimally low levels of growth and employment. However, available tax instruments are sufficient to attain the first‐best growth path in this economy. The paper further explores the relative distortion of capital and labour taxes. For plausible parametrisations of the model, lowering capital taxes dominate reductions in labour taxes in welfare terms.     

道德风险存在下董事责任保险市场的保费水平分析

本文通过对董事责任保险市场的介绍,指出在董事责任保险市场中存在着严重的道德风险问题,通过对市场中保险双方行为的博弈分析,得到在道德风险存在下的保费变动范围,并指出防止或减轻董事责任保险市场中道德风险的方法.     

陕西实施农村养老保险制度的经济分析及措施

随着我国人口老龄化的加剧，老年人特别是农村老年人的养老问题日益突出，本文主要通过对陕西农村养老现状和所存在问题的分析，提出了建立农村养老保险制度的建议，旨在于试图为我国农村养老保险制度的实施提供一些借鉴。     

关于资产证券化及会计处理的探讨

资产证券化是金融创新浪潮中崛起的一种主流融资技术。它使贷款成了具有流动性的证券,盘活企业的存量资产,并优化其财务比率。然而,也相应地引发了一系列的会计问题。主要集中在转让方式或出售方式的会计确认、定价计量、会计报表合并及报表披露。     

中国股票市场市盈率的检验分析

市盈率高低是我国股市的关注焦点之一。本文在比较国外证券市场的市盈率之后认为我国的市盈率偏高。这种推测得到我们理论研究和模型结论的支持,我国股市市盈率由于系统风险的掩藏、股票初始发行价偏高和股市投机性等因素而呈现较高的倍数。从2004年我国股市市盈率开始下降,逐渐接近我们模型的估计值。此外,我们实证分析认为,市盈率的高低与GDP增长、股票收益波动和国有股比重等因素不存在严格的变动关系,市盈率呈现出一种随机游走的态势,市盈率不是稳定的区间值,而是一系列的动态的时间序列变量值。     

我国证券市场风险收益特征的行为基础

我国证券市场的风险收益具有以下特征:(1)资本资产定价模型所揭示的风险收益关系在我国股市并不显著。(2)我国证券市场系统性风险占整体风险的比例较高。(3)从趋势上看,无论个股还是行业系统性风险占整体风险的指标没有明显的下降趋势。这些特征根源于我国特定的投资者结构以及不同投资者的风险厌恶特性和对私人信息的偏好特性。因此,投资者应针对上述特征,在集中投资、反向交易和降低交易频率等方面调整交易策略,提高投资收益率。