Why are Small Firms Different? Managers’ Views

Do incentives differ between large and small organizations? Results from a representative survey of compensation managers are used to shed light on the issues. I find that (i) small establishments rely less on pecuniary incentives, and have a significantly more hostile attitude towards incentive schemes based on competition and relative rewards; (ii) large units are more vulnerable to mechanisms of efficiency wages, effects that remain even after controlling for differences in monitoring ability; (iii) large units are more prone to indicate that negative reciprocity is important, and that their employees care about relative pay. I argue that these findings fit with behavioral stories of incentives and motivation, in particular those stressing group interaction effects, inequity aversion and gift exchange.     

金融发展与城乡居民收入差距关系探讨--以中国西部12省区为例

文章基于2002-2011年中国西部12个省份金融市场（金融中介和保险市场）发展状况面板数据,建立回归模型,利用pooled LS回归和基于贝叶斯线性回归理论的MCMC算法,对西部地区金融发展与城乡居民收入差距之间的关系进行实证分析。研究结果表明：金融中介发展拉大了西部地区城乡居民收入差距,而保险市场发展则对西部地区城乡居民收入差距的扩大有抑制作用。并在文章的最后对出现这些情况的原因以及政策建议进行了阐述。     

工资性收入不平等：基于户籍歧视的分析

文章利用2012年中国城镇居民与流动人口收入调查数据,采用不同的工资分解方法,从地区分割、职业分割和收入阶层的角度测算并分析了户籍工资差异及户籍歧视情况。实证结果表明,户籍歧视在不同经济发展区域都存在;户籍歧视的加剧体现在工资歧视和就业歧视两方面;对于极低工资、低工资和较高工资的劳动者而言,户籍歧视带来的收入不平等问题相当严重。     

Teenagers on the Net

ABSTRACT

Both in business and in academic research, the Internet and electronic commerce grow exponentially. Attention has predominately been directed to developing the companies' capabilities and systems, while the consumers' perspective in contrast has received much less attention. This paper takes this perspective and focuses on online behavior of specifically 16- to 18-year-old teenagers. This particular segment tends to open to new things and know a great deal about using computers and the Internet. A questionnaire conducted among students in a high school in southern Finland showed that the overwhelming majority had computer and Internet access at home. Most of the young respondents had already used the Internet for various purposes and intend to do so even more in the future. For the young, information search and communication were the main purposes of using the Internet, and lower-value products related to mobile phones were the main products being bought online. At the same time they had different concerns that influence their behavior and, somewhat surprisingly, reported a slightly negative attitude towards electronic commerce. In line with previous studies, privacy and security issues were the primary concerns for the young Internet users. Gender aspects also emerged from the data since there were several differences in Internet usage and online purchasing between girls and boys. Based on the findings, the paper ends with implications and recommendations for companies attempting to approach teenagers in order to build relationships with them.     

Gender, poverty and deprivation: Evidence from the Republic of Guinea

The article examines the relationship between gender and consumption poverty and between gender and deprivation in the Republic of Guinea. National household survey data reveal that women are not more likely than men to be consumption poor or to suffer greater consumption poverty. Participatory Poverty Assessment data from the village of Kamatiguia reveal that women are “worse off” than men when deprivation includes, inter alia, excessive work load and reduced decision-making authority. When consumption poverty poorly correlates with other dimensions of deprivation, it should not be the sole guide for equity-based policy intervention.