Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Temporary Migrants: Coping With Language Barriers... Temporarily?, Maria Eugenia De Luna Villalón

Maria Eugenia De Luna Villalón

No abstract provided.

Uncertainty, Pay For Performance, And Asymmetric Information, Felipe Balmaceda Assoc Prof.

Felipe Balmaceda

This article develops a new rationale for the emergence of pay-for-performance contracts where the labor market is competitive, workers are risk averse, and firms are risk neutral and unaware of workers’ productivities. The article shows that the prevalence of pay for performance rises and the pay-for-performance sensitivity falls as environmental uncertainty increases. This empirical regularity is unaccounted for alternative models such as the standard agency model. (JEL D86, L2, M5, J3)

Policies Towards High-Skilled Immigrants In The Eu, U.S.A. And Canada. Comparative Perspective, Hristina Petrova

Hristina Petrova

No abstract provided.

Mergers And Ceo Power, Felipe Balmaceda Assoc Prof.

Felipe Balmaceda

In this paper I propose a model of mergers in which synergies and CEO power play a crucial role. A merger is modeled as a bargaining game between the acquiring and target board of directors with the gains from a merger divided according to the generalized Nash-bargaining solution. The model's implications are consistent with the available empirical evidence on stock returns, and yield some new untested implications that are mainly related to the relationship between CEO power, cor- porate governance and mergers. Finally, the model sheds light on the relationship between aggregate merger activity, synergies and CEO power. (JEL: G34, …

Employment Fluctuations With Downward Wage Rigidity: The Role Of Worker Moral Hazard, Marcel Jansen, Jim Costain

Marcel Jansen

This paper studies the cyclical dynamics of Mortensen and Pissarides' (1994) model of job creation and destruction when workers' effort is not perfectly observable, as in Shapiro and Stiglitz (1984). An occasionally-binding no-shirking constraint truncates the real wage distribution from below, making firms' share of surplus weakly procyclical, and may thus amplify fluctuations in hiring. It may also cause a burst of inefficient firing at the onset of a recession, separating matches that no longer have sufficient surplus for incentive compatibility.

On the other hand, since marginal workers in booms know firms cannot commit to keep them in recessions, they …

A Nation In Dilemma, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

following the Global financial Crisis there were economic collapses in all the world. Sudan officials claimed that the country was immune from that epidemic. Such declaration were truly weird as it has been deeply affected from the first instant. That article presented many questions about the economic and social conditions and the eminent southern Sudan, Darfur crises.

Economic Performance, Creditor Protection, And Labour Inflexibility, Felipe Balmaceda Assoc Prof., Ronald Fischer Full Professor

Felipe Balmaceda

We present a static general equilibrium model of an open economy where agents are heterogeneous in terms of observable wealth and there are endogenous credit constraints due to imperfect creditor protection. Improved credit protection, harder assets, and more efficient bankruptcy procedures increase output, investment, and credit penetration. Better credit protection and harder assets lead to higher interest rate spreads. In a capital constrained (unconstrained) economy, greater (lower) wealth inequality leads to higher (lower) investment and output. Interest rate spreads are lower in richer and more unequal economies in terms of their wealth distribution. We also show that increased labour protection …

Some Remarks On The Effects Of Active Labour Market Policies In Post-Transition, Joanna Tyrowicz, Piotr Wojcik

Joanna Tyrowicz

Social cohesion is the principal goal behind active labour market policies (ALMPs), including those financed at supra-national level, like the European Social Fund. In this paper we use NUTS4 level data on the local labour market dynamics in an attempt to verify direct and indirect effects of ALMPs. We use data for 2000-2007 for Poland, while this period comprised both stark increases and reductions in the unemployment rates. Over this time also the financing of ALMPs has been increased considerably, transforming both to higher intensity of ALMPs (wider coverage) and higher extensiveness of these activities (increase in per treatment cost). …

Financial Regulation And Securitization: Evidence From Subprime Mortgage Loans, Benjamin J. Keys, Tanmoy K. Mukherjee, Amit Seru, Vikrant Vig

Benjamin J. Keys

We examine the consequences of existing regulations on the quality of mortgage loans originations in the originate to distribute (OTD) market. The information asymmetries in the OTD market can lead to moral hazard problems on the part of lenders. We find, using a plausibly exogenous source of variation in the ease of securitization, that the quality of loan originations varies inversely with the amount of regulation: more regulated lenders originate loans of worse quality. We interpret this result as possible evidence that the fragility of lightly regulated originators' capital structure can mitigate moral hazard. In addition, we find that incentives …

The Janjaweed And The Armed Movements Of Sudan, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

The emergence of the Janjaweed as an armed force working with the government to suppress rebellions in Darfur region outraged the international community. They were marked by brutality, destruction, burning, killings and mass rapes. They were also described as Arabs. However, that was not the whole picture, no one observed the living conditions of the Arabs or how were they victims also as the other inhabitants of Darfur. No one also observed that they were used by the Ingaz government to execute the dirty work and bear the consequences. The Arab tribes however, also had other thoughts as they realized …

Assessing The Viability Of Investment In Sudan (1979-2008), Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Most developing and underdeveloped countries beside Sudan suffer from low levels of income in addition to the low savings that are result from the lack of public savings channels. Hence, investments depend on the individuals' abilities on savings where they are major motivating vehicle for economic activity due to its direct correlation with capital accumulation process that increases the productive capacity for the national economy and help to create job opportunities and achieving economic development. Subsequently, the importance of the investment comes from the effective role that can be practiced on the national product. Currently, Sudan endures severe economic crisis …

Rogue Counrty And Potential Cooperation: The United States And Sudan And Feasible Economic Partnership, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

The United States declared Sudan as a rogue country in 1995 due to many political considerations. It has imposed many economic and political sanctions against it since that time which represented hindrance to development and resulted in economic crises. Oil explorations started long time by Total Oil Company and resumed by Chevron that halted her activities in Sudan after the flaring of the civil war between the Northern and Southern parts of the country. That work was resumed in 1996 by Chinese companies and was crowned by success and commercial production in 1999. Although the economic situations of Sudan improved …

Who Cries For Sudan: من الذي يرثي السودان, Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

Professor Issam A.W. Mohamed

The institutional collapse in Sudan started long time ago. However, it has accelerator in the past years since Nivasha Comprehensive Peace Agreement and Darfur war.

Implication Of Trips Agreement In Tanzania: Case Study Of Pharmaceutical Patent And Hiv/Aids, Johansein L. Rutaihwa Mr.

Johansein Rutaihwa

No abstract provided.

A Two-Sided Auction For Legacy Loans, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

On Monday, 23 March 2009, Treasury Secretary Geithner presented the Public-Private Investment Program as a key instrument to resolve the financial crisis (www.financialstability.gov). The Treasury’s description still leaves many issues unanswered. We flesh out the auction design for legacy loans. A two-sided auction is required. Both banks and private investors must compete in a transparent and competitive process.

Endogenous Party Formation And The Inequality-Redistribution Nexus, Francesco Scervini

Francesco Scervini

Several reasons have been suggested to be the causes of the weak link between inequality and redistribution. The aim of the present paper is to investigate a new one, based on the endogeneity of party formation and the lack of representation in indirect democracies. Cre- ation and maintenance of political parties is a costly activity and it is possible that some classes of population cannot afford it and therefore are under-represented. This could help in explaining why the median voter theories seem to fail in predicting the amount of redistribution as dependent on the level of inequality. Moreover, in this …

Regional Unemployment Dynamics In Poland. A Convergence Approach, Joanna Tyrowicz, Piotr Wojcik

Joanna Tyrowicz

In this paper we approach the regional unemployment dynamics in Poland. Using policy relevant NUTS4 level data for 1999 till 2006 we employ tools typically applied to income convergence analyses to inquire the patterns of unemployment distribution. We apply diverse analytical techniques to seek traces of convergence, including beta and sigma convergence as well as pass-through analysis.

We demonstrate that it is highly stable over time, while only weak "convergence of clubs" is supported by the data and only for the high unemployment regions. Results suggest no support in favour of beta-type convergence, i.e. convergence of levels. Even controlling for …

How Much Es In Csr, Anna Sienicka, Joanna Tyrowicz

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper approaches the problem of CSR in the context of social economy development in New Member States at the example of Poland. We explore the opportunities for companies to engage into socially beneficial undertakings with direct rather than indirect economic advantages. Namely, we demonstrate to what extent currently existing legal regulations enable bridging the world of civil society institutions with corporate world.

We suggest that even without specialized instruments adopted and implemented by CEECs governments, innova- tive inclusion solutions developed by civil society organizations may actually provide suficient incentives for companies in new member states to develop CSR. We …

Exogenous Coalition Formation In The E-Marketplace Based On Geographical Proximity, Tomasz Michalak, Joanna Tyrowicz, Peter Mcburney, Michael Wooldridge

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper considers a model for exogenous coalition formation in e-marketplaces. Using its informational advantage, an e-retailer creates coalitions of customers based on geographical proximity. Most of the literature regards this process as endogenous: a coalition leader among the buyers bundles eventual purchases together in order to obtain a better bargaining position. In contrast – and in response to what is typically observed in business practice – we analyse a situation in which an existing e-retailer exogenously forms customers’ coalitions. Results of this study are highly encouraging. Namely, we demonstrate that even under highly imperfect warehouse management schemes leading to …

Unemployment Convergence In Transition, Joanna Tyrowicz, Piotr Wojcik

Joanna Tyrowicz

In this paper an attempt is made to inquire the dynamics of regional unemployment rates in transition economies. We use policy relevant NUTS4 unemployment rates for transition economies characterised by both relatively intense (Poland, Slovaka) and relatively mild labour market hardships (Czech Republic). We apply diverse analytical techniques to seek traces of convergence, including beta- and sigma-convergence as well as time-series approach.

Transition economies typically experienced rapid growth of the unemployment rates due to profound restructuring. Naturally, these processes affected local labour markets asymmetrically, since regions were diversified with respect to industry composition and economic outlooks. Results in each of …

Foreign Debt And Domestic Savings In Developing Countries, Luke Okafor, Joanna Tyrowicz

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper approaches the question of potential causality between foreign debt and domestic savings in the context of developing countries. Literature provides evidence in as far as foreign debt and development is concerned, but little attention was given so far to internal potential for capital formation. We provide a theoretical framework and test its relevance using 1975-2004 data for two groups of countries: sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America with the Caribbean. With the use of instrumental variables we find negative impact of foreign debt on domestic savings especially in the long run. The results are not susceptible to the choice …

Is The Impact Really That High? The Effect Of Fdi In Transition, Jan Hagemejer, Joanna Tyrowicz

Joanna Tyrowicz

Literature is not clear on the effect of FDI on the economic performance in hosting countries. The analysed eects include productivity, propensity to export, access to financial markets, etc. Although foreign subsidiaries usually perform better than the average of the hosting economies, sometimes the selection eect is found to be considerable. The analysed eects In this paper we use a unique dataset based on accounting annual reports to the statistical authorities by all medium and large Polish enterprises over a period 1997-2006. We apply a propensity score matching technique to disentangle the effect of self-selection and FDI entry (treatment). We …

When Eastern Labour Markets Enter Western Europe - Ceecs Labour Market Institutions Upon Euro Zone Accession, Joanna Tyrowicz

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper reviews the literature on the labour market institutions in European Union Member States in the context of monetary integration. Traditionally, labour markets are a key concept in the optimal currency area theory, playing the role of the only accommodation mechanism of asymmetric shocks after the monetary unification. There are several theoretical frameworks linking the institutional design of the labour market to the potential effectiveness of monetary policy in the context of currency areas. Many empirical studies addressed these issues too, yielding important policy implications for labour market reforms in the process of monetary unification. However, there seem to …

Nonlinear Stochastic Convergence Analysis Of Regional Unemployment Rates In Poland, Joanna Tyrowicz, Piotr Wojcik

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper analyzes convergence of unemployment rates in Poland at NUTS4 level by testing nonlinear convergence, applying the modified KSS-CHLL for each pair of territorial units. The results suggest that actually the convergence is a rare phenomenon and occurs only in 1916 cases out of potential over 70 000 combinations. This paper inquires what systematic reasons contribute to this phenomenon.

There are some circumstances under which unemployment convergence should be more awaited than in the others. These include sharing a higher level territorial authority, experiencing similar labour market hardship or sharing the same structural characteristics. For each of these three …

Blame No One? Investment Decisions Of The Polish Stock-Listed Companies, Joanna Tyrowicz

Joanna Tyrowicz

It is often raised that enterprises in transition countries are cursed with credit constraints and insufficient capital. Regardless of whether this belief holds for the whole of the economy, the Agency Theory provides a useful both theoretical and empirical framework helping to verify the efficiency of investment decisions in case of companies for which 'objective' future cash-flow valuation is available. The assertion of managerial discretion has been verified empirically for many different countries with the analytical background provided by user cost of capital and Tobin's Q theories. This paper’s contribution is the analysis of the Polish stock-listed companies behavior with …

Labour Market Racial Discrimination In South Africa Revisited, Joanna Tyrowicz, Maciej Szelewicki

Joanna Tyrowicz

Discrimination is a significant issue in labour market economics across developed as well as developing countries. In this paper we inquire the actual size of wage discrimination in the Republic of Soutn Africa, accounting for large differences in endowments. We apply the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition as well as propensity score matching to adequately determine the size of the pay gap. Although the size of the absolute racial pay gap is enormous, amounting for more than 500%, the actual estimated effect non-attributable to other factors ranges between 45%-55%. This estimator however assumes homogenous discrimination across the wage distribution, while data suggest that …

(In)Efficiency Of Matching - The Case Of A Post-Transition Economy, Joanna Tyrowicz, Tomasz Jeruzalski

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper approaches the question of efficiency in job placement using regional data for Polish regions (policy relevant NUTS 4 level) over the time span of 2000-2008. Using a unique data set we estimate the matching function using stochastic frontier as well as difference-in-difference estimators. We use also managed to combine this unique data set with another unique source of data on the ALMPs

coverage, unemployment structure across time and regions as well as the individual capacity of local labour offices. We use these data to explain the exceptional variation in estimated efficiency scores.

Our findings suggest that matching abilities …

Job Auctions And Hold-Ups, Marcel Jansen

Marcel Jansen

We consider a labor market with search frictions in which firms need to invest in capital before they can post a vacancy. This assumption creates a natural scope for hold-up problems, but the innovation of our study is that we allow for competition among the applicants who apply for the same job. In our economy all applicants are paid their actual marginal product. Nonetheless, with random search there exists a hold-up problem, leading to underinvestment in capital. On the contrary, if workers can direct their search towards firms with different capital levels, the equilibrium is efficient. This result contrasts sharply …

Abandono Escolar Y Mercado De Trabajo En España, Rafael Muñoz De Bustillo, José-Ignacio Antón, Francisco-Javier Braña, Enrique Fernández-Macías

José-Ignacio Antón

En el contexto actual, donde los trabajadores se enfrentan a un mercado laboral caracterizado por la creciente importancia de la innovación y el cambio tecnológico, existen pocas dudas del lugar central que ocupa la formación de capital humano para el desarrollo social y económico. En este sentido, es motivo de especial preocupación la persistencia de unas tasas de abandono escolar mucho más altas en España que en los países europeos de nuestro entorno (uno de cada tres jóvenes españoles entre 18 y 24 años abandona los estudios antes de conseguir un título de educación secundaria superior, frente a menos del …

Divorce And The Option Value Of Marital Search, Valerio Filoso

Valerio Filoso

This work tests whether the introduction of divorce law changes the timing of marital search. Rational agents should adjust to the divorce risk by increasing the average search spell, whereas option value theory stresses the role of irreversible investments: in this case, the new exit option should result in shorter spells. Using a dynamic model of marital search, a new data set of retrospective individual Italian data, and two robust statistical specifications, we find strong evidence that the legal innovation actually lowered the age at marriage, thereby worsening the level of marital matching, and possibly reinforcing self-fulfilling prophecies of divorce.