Charitable Giving of Alumni

A bstract . This research examines the "age-donation" profile of gift-giving alumniai a large public university , based on a pooled micro-data random sample of 4,242 alumni (1926/27-1989/90 graduates) who gave cash gifts during the 1975/76-1989/90 fiscal years. The covariance regression model results indicate lack of statistically significant difference between gift-giving women and men. However, the School of Business graduates , alumni who proceeded to obtain graduate degrees from this university, and alumni members of non-Greek social organizations gave significantly more. Moreover, alumni contributions varied systematically over the business cycle and a 1962 Federal Court Order to desegregate the university racially reduced donations but not significantly. Given the 63-year cycle studied, the growth rates of alumni donations of money are projected to decline after roughly age 52, which falls short of the typical retirement age.     

Contents of Volume 15

Volume Contents

Contents of Volume 15     

The Trade-Off Between Supervision Cost and Performance Based Pay: Does Gender Matter?

The study adds to the literature by providing new empirical evidence consistent with efficiency wage theory,and by providing estimates of the average cost of supervising a worker by industry. This research uses the 1996 wave of the NLSY and incorporates estimates of supervision cost computed from industry classifications. We further detect presence of no gender differences neither in risk-averseness nor in productivity gains associated with cost of supervision and performance-based pay. While the findings imply that employers should consider the incentive effects of supervision and performance based pay when constructing pay schemes, there is no need for employers to devote resources to constructing gender-specific payment mechanisms. Our evidence suggests that profit-maximizing firms should treat males and females equally and develop gender-neutral pay schemes.     

Determinants of foreign direct investment: empirical evidence from EU accession candidates

This study examines bilateral foreign direct investments (FDI) between the members of the European Union and eight central and east European candidate (CEEC) economies in transition, awaiting accession into the European Union (EU). Cross-section data were obtained for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia for 1997. Once the main characteristics of FDI recipient and donor nations are identified in a bilateral framework, it will be feasible to predict future FDI inflows. This study reveals that the key determinants of FDI inflows in CEECs are size of the host economy, host country risk, labour costs in host country, and openness to trade. Countries that are receiving fewer foreign investments could make themselves more attractive to potential donor nations by focusing on some of the key determinants identified by this study.     

Financial liberalization and the selection of emigrants: a cross-national analysis

This paper explores the impact of financial liberalization on the migration of high skilled labor from 46 countries to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, taken at 5-year intervals over the period 1985–2000. Using an exploratory factor analysis, we are able to distinguish between two dimensions of financial liberalization, namely the robustness of the markets and their freedom from direct government control. We find that a standard deviation improvement in the robustness of the source country financial sector magnifies the extent of skilled emigration by a factor of about 3.9–5.1 % points on the average. However, a corresponding increase in the freedom of the source country financial sector from government control has a statistically insignificant impact. Further, the impact of improved financial sector robustness on selection is more pronounced for countries with a better quality of institutions in terms of the perceived credibility of the regime in terms of its ability to protect property rights.     

Union-nonunion compensation differentials across plant sizes: Evidence from CPS 1983

Previous empirical work on the relationship between plant size and union-nonunion differentials has focused either on wages (Podgursky, 1986) or benefits (Bramley, Wunnava, and Robinson, 1989; Freeman, 1981). This note extends this research by simultaneously focusing on both wages and benefits. There are several arguments that can be made in explaining union-nonunion differentials across plant sizes: (1) union threat effects, (2) efficiency wage effects, and (3) wage dispersion effects. Our study focuses on measuring the union-nonunion differential in total compensation. For this end, estimates of total compensation are obtained using Mellow's suggestion (1982) for combining hourly wage information with qualitative data on pensions and health insurance, and Ross's imputations (1989) for holidays and vacations benefits. Our results, based on the May 1983 CPS supplemented by BLS data on pensions, health insurance, holidays, and vacation benefits indicate significant union-nonunion total compensation differentials exist only for workers in establishments with less than 500 workers. These results are consistent with Podgursky's wage differential findings.     

Union-Nonunion Gender Wage and Benefit Differentials across Establishment Sizes

Based on data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY), both male and female workers in larger establishments receive not only higher wages but also have a higher probability of receiving benefits than those in smaller establishments. This phenomenon reinforces the well documented size effect. This study also provides evidence of vast gender differences in estimated union effects on the different components of the compensation structure. Hence unions should not treat both genders similarly with respect to wages and benefits. Specifically, unions may be successful in attracting more female workers to join rank and file if unions could play an active role in making available maternity (paternity) leave, and also provided opportunities for women to join large establishments.     

Economic impact of a private sector micro-financing scheme in South Dakota

While poverty rates on Native American Indian reservations are triple the US average. Small business incubation programs, available elsewhere in the US, scarcely exist on the Native American Indian Reservations (NAIRs). Our unique study tests the effects of the Lakota Fund (LF), a private sector small business development initiative on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, on the economic development of the NAIRs. Our objective is to determine whether the SBA-like programs (loans, training, and consulting) can improve economic conditions. The 1980–2006 annual county-level (Shannon Co. is ‘treatment,’and Todd Co. is ‘control’) data are a natural experiment. Results indicate that the LF inception and duration significantly raised real per capita income (RPCI)—suggesting not only the success of the LF, but support for the broader notion that privately funded small business initiatives can be used to support economic development of isolated impoverished groups within the US economy.     

The role of foreign capital in domestic manufacturing productivity: empirical evidence from Asian economies

The paper empirically examines the relative contribution of foreign and domestic machinery and equipment on manufacturing productivity in seven Asian economies. A Cobb-Douglas production function is used to test whether foreign machinery is more productive than domestic machinery. The study is based on a pooled cross-sectional time-series model, including seven countries - Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and India - for the years 1975 to 1990. The results support the hypothesis that a country's stage of development, skill-level of its labour force, and the technology embodied in capital play a crucial role in determining the relative impact of foreign and domestic capital on manufacturing productivity.     

Testing Mundell's Intuition of Endogenous OCA Theory*

This paper presents an empirical assessment of the endogenous optimum currency area theory. Frankel and Rose (1998 ) study the endogeneity of a currency union through the lens of international trade flows. Our study extends Frankel and Rose's model by using FDI flows to test the original theory developed by Mundell in 1973. A gravity model is used to empirically assess the effectiveness of the convergence criteria by examining location‐specific advantages that guide multinational investment within the European Union. A fixed effects model based on a panel data of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows within the EU‐15 shows that horizontal investment promotes the diffusion of the production process across the national border. Specifically, our results suggest that economic convergence ensured by belonging to the common currency area helps double FDI flows.