Labor Economics Commons^™

Positive Economic Freedom: An Enabling Role For International Labor Standards In Developing Countries?, Tonia Warnecke, Alex De Ruyter

Faculty Publications

Approaches to economic development have overemphasized negative economic freedom for multinational corporations at the expense of a majority of the population in developing countries. An inevitable outcome has been the growth of informal sector and “vulnerable” employment in developing countries and entrenchment of existing inequalities. We argue that rather than an emphasis on negative freedom, an emphasis on using labor standards to facilitate positive economic freedom must occur. Labor standards do this not only through the “core” rights of union membership and collective bargaining, but also in addressing substantive (“non-core”) rights at work (wages, working-time, etc.), thereby facilitating positive freedom.

Long-Run Wage And Earnings Losses Of Displaced Workers, Roger White

Economics

Displacement-related losses are estimated using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data that span the years 1979–2000. The typical displaced worker faces losses of $34,065 during the period 4 years prior through 5 years following displacement. Proportionally, this represents a 10.8% loss compared to earnings of similar nondisplaced workers over the period. Considerable variation in losses is reported across worker types. Union, male and more mature workers suffer greater losses, respectively, than do their nonunion, female and younger counterparts. College graduates and high school dropouts are found to suffer lower losses compared to high school diploma holders and those who completed …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 4, Spring 2010

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Central Bank Of Nigeria Annual Report And Statement Of Accounts For The Year Ended 31st December 2010, Central Bank Of Nigeria

CBN Annual Report

2010 annual report reviews the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and appraises the macroeconomic policies in 2010. the report is structured into two parts. Part 1 reviews the corporate operations of the bank, while the part 2 evaluates the performance of the economy against the challenges in both the thrust of monetary policy and other financial measures was to improve liquidity and enhance the efficiency and stability of the financial system without compromising the primary goal of monetary and price stability.

Nurturing America's Growth In The Global Marketplace Through Talent Development: An Interim Report On The Evaluation Of Generations Ii And Iii Of Wired, Nancy Hewat, Kevin Hollenbeck

Reports

This is the first report from the evaluation of Generations II and III of the Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development Initiative. This interim report presents baseline information from all 26 regions. It reflects the status of regional activities as of the summer of 2008, when many regions were in the initial stage of implementation. Thus, the report focuses on the development of partnerships, governance arrangements, and the design of decision-making processes. In early 2006, ETA announced the initial recipients of grants to promote regional collaboration of a wide range of public and private organizations with the goal of transforming …

Displacement-Related Earnings Losses: Evaluating Trade Adjustment Assistance And Wage Insurance, Roger White

Economics

The author examines the effectiveness of stylized versions of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative TAA (or wage insurance) programs in reducing displacement-related earnings losses. Wage insurance subsidies and returns to TAAfunded training are applied to estimates of proportional earnings losses, reported by White, that were generated using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 data spanning the period from 1979 to 2000. Wage insurance reduces the typical worker’s losses by 14.4 percent, while TAA-funded training is estimated to reduce losses by 23.7 percent. However, variation in the time paths and magnitudes of losses produces considerable variation in the effects …

Globalization And The Wage-Working Conditions Relationship: A Case Study Of Cambodian Garment Factories, Cael Warren

Economics Honors Projects

The wage premiums for firm-level foreign exposure (exporting and foreign ownership) have been well documented in the literature, and their potential sources have been studied in depth. Compensating differentials and efficiency wages are two distinct explanations (with radically different implications for worker welfare) for wage gaps that persist between firms despite controls for firm and worker characteristics. We use a comprehensive dataset of working conditions and wage compliance in Cambodia’s exporting garment factories to explore (1) the impact of foreign ownership on wages and working conditions, (2) whether the relationship between wages and working conditions within these exporting factories more …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 3, Spring 2009

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights Abuses Along The Dominican-Haitian Border, Calla Cloud

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A 122 mile-long border separates the Dominican Republic and Haiti on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Of the two countries, Haiti’s human rights abuses are much more somber than the emerging developments of the Dominican Republic. Haiti’s stagnant economic situation has contributed to perennial political instability and lack of infrastructure, having a particularly confounding affect on the rights and labor conditions of Haitian citizens. There are a myriad of reasons why Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Two of the most prominent include its violent political history and the gradual deterioration of its economy. In the context …

Measuring Offshore Outsourcing And Offshoring: Problems For Economic Statistics, Susan N. Houseman

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

State And Regional Variation In The Effects Of Trade On Job Displacement In The Us Manufacturing Sector, 1982-1999, Roger White

Economics

Worker-level data from the 1984–2000 Displaced Worker Surveys are employed to examine the effects of trade on manufacturing workers’ probabilities of job displacement. Observed changes in import and export penetration rates yield increases in displacement probabilities for the North Central, Middle Atlantic and South Central regions yet lower displacement probabilities for the Plains/West and Pacific regions. Changes in import and export price indexes lead to increases in displacement probabilities for the Pacific, Southeast and Northeast regions and decreases for the South Central and Middle Atlantic regions. However, while the influences of imports and exports on job displacement vary considerably across …

Who Really Made Your Car?: Restructuring And Geographic Change In The Auto Industry, Thomas H. Klier, James M. Rubenstein

Upjohn Press

The authors present the key characteristics of the vast network of auto parts suppliers and describe the changing geography of U.S. motor vehicle production at the local, regional, national, and international levels.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 2, Spring 2008

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Industry Structure Similarities, Trade Agreements, And Business Cycle Synchronization, Samuel D. Marll

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper analyzes the effects of industry structure similarities, free trade agreements, and geographic borders on regional business cycle correlation, using fifty US states, 10 Canadian provinces, and 1 Canadian territory as a case study. Using two cross-sectional OLS regressions and one panel data OLS regression, this study finds that pair-wise gross territorial product growth correlation decreased significantly after NAFTA ratification for state-state, province-province, and state-province territorial pairs, contrary to previous literature’s results. NAFTA effectively decoupled intra-national business cycles in the US and Canada while also desynchronizing cross-border pair-wise GSP growth correlation, but cross-border pair-wise GSP growth correlation was much …

What Can Industry Trade Orientation Tell Us About Trade-Related Employment Dynamics?, Roger White

Economics

We explore whether imports and exports affect industry employment differently based on the industry’s trade orientation. Effects of trade are examined for both production and non-production employment using data for 384 6-digit manufacturing industries, classified by the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS), and 116 trading partners that span the years 1972 to 2001. Additionally, we consider potential employment effects stemming from shifts in import sources from high- to low-income nations. The findings confirm theory and provide a more detailed portrait of trade-related employment dynamics. As the United States further liberalizes trade, net job loss may be expected in more …

Import Competition And Job Displacement: Evidence From Us Manufacturing, 1981-1999, Roger White

Economics

No abstract provided.

Import Competition And The Probability Of Job Displacement In Us Manufacturing, 1983-1999, Roger White

Economics

The trade-displacement relationship is examined using observations from the 1984- 2000 Displaced Worker Surveys and corresponding industry data. Increases in import penetration and decreases in import prices correlate with higher displacement rates. Considerable variation in the effects of import competition on displacement probabilities is found across worker types. For example, the estimated displacement probability for a minority female who is not a union member but who has completed some college coursework ranges from 6.44 to 7.13 percent. This is significantly higher than the range estimated (1.02 to 1.24 percent) for collegeeducated, white, male union members. Setting import competition values equal …

Determinants Of Workers' Remittances: The Case Of Turkey: A Review., Magnus O. Abeng

Economic and Financial Review

The paper is focused on the determinants of workers remittances using Turkey as a case study.

Are Immigrants Remittance Flows A Source Of Capital For Development?: A Review, Phebian N. Omanukwue

Economic and Financial Review

The paper seeks to develop a remittance model that would indicate if immigrant remittances were a source of capital flows for development.

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 1, Spring 2006

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

The 2004 Global Labour Survey: Working Institution And Practices Around The World, Davin Chor, Richard B. Freeman

Research Collection School Of Economics

The 2004 Global Labor Survey (GLS) is an Internet-based survey that seeks to measure de facto labor practices in countries around the world, covering issues such as freedom of association, the regulation of work contracts, employee benefits and the prevalence of collective bargaining. To find out about de facto practices, the GLS invited labor practitioners, ranging from union officials and activists to professors of labor law and industrial relations, to report on conditions in their country. Over 1,500 persons responded, which allowed us to create indices of practices in ten broad areas for 33 countries. The GLS' focus on de …

Trade, Capital Accumulation And Structural Unemployment: An Empirical Study Of The Singapore Economy, Hiau Looi Kee, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper studies the factors responsible for the secular decline of Singapore’s unemployment rate over the period 1966-2000 in an environment of low and stable inflation rates. We introduce wage bargaining and unions into a specific-factors, two-sector economy with an export sector and a non-tradable sector to obtain an endogenous natural unemployment rate. Increases in the relative export price and capital stock in the export sector are predicted to reduce structural unemployment. These hypotheses could not be rejected based on structural estimations and co-integration regressions. Empirically, capital accumulation in the export sector explains most of the decline in Singapore’s unemployment …

International Trade And Labor Markets: Theory, Evidence, And Policy Implications, Carl Davidson, Steven J. Matusz

Upjohn Press

Davidson and Matusz develop simple yet compelling models that allow for documented differences in labor markets across countries in order to investigate the impact of trade and trade policies on society's underclass.

Transnational Labor Mobilizing In Two Mexican Maquiladoras: The Struggle For Democratic Globalization, Victoria Carty

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

The struggle to improve workers' rights in Mexican maquiladoras and export processing zones elsewhere in the world is central to the politics of global economic integration. State-centered development is increasingly compromised by supranational institutions and trade agreements. Meanwhile, multinational corporations are relocating at an unprecedented rate to overseas locations. Export processing zones are notorious for poor working conditions and result in a "race to the bottom." The maquila sector in Mexico is a prime example of this phenomenon. This article uses two case studies to examine ways in which grassroots organizing has successfully resisted low wages and poor working conditions …

Terms Of Trade And Unit Labor Costs In Trade Theories, Anwar Shaikh Phd

Archives of Anwar Shaikh

This collection includes:

• Terms of trade and unit labor costs in trade theories (2003, November 2) [Document].

Job Creation, Job Destruction, And International Competition, Michael W. Klein, Scott Schuh, Robert K. Triest

Upjohn Press

The authors present a picture of how the effects of international trade on employment in U.S. manufacturing industries vary widely. They explore the labor-market dynamics and adjustment costs associated with international factors, particularly the way fluctuations in exchange rates, overseas economic activity, and the altering of trade restrictions contribute to churning-the simultaneous job creation among some firms and job destruction among others.

A Model Of Industrialization And International Wage Convergence Based On Multi-Plant Foreign Direct Investment, Hian Teck Hoon, Irene Ng

Research Collection School Of Economics

We show that for industrialization and international wage convergence through multi-plant foreign direct investment (FDI) to occur, the measure of the quality of the social infrastructure in the South relative to that in the North must be at least as large as the South-North wage ratio. We also show that if profitable FDI flows already take place from the North to the most productive economy in the South, then less productive Southern economies can also become recipients of FDI, provided that they are integrated into the world trading system, and there are no impediments to the decline of their wage …

Has Training Helped Employ Xiagang In China? A Tale From Two Cities, Benu Bidani, Chor-Ching Goh, Christopher J. O'Leary

Reports

This study evaluates the effectiveness of training programs for workers retrenched from Chinese state-owned enterprises in the cities of Shenyang and Wuhan. A variety of impact estimators were applied, however ordinary least squares (OLS) controlling for observable characteristic s was robust. We find that training dampens reemployment prospects in Shenyang but improves them in Wuhan. Training impact estimates computed by propensity score and log odds ratio matching imposing various support condition rules, yielded estimates very similar to those from the OLS. The estimates suggest that participation in training reduces the probability of being employed one year after participation by about …

Imports, Exports, And Jobs: What Does Trade Mean For Employment And Job Loss?, Lori G. Kletzer

Upjohn Press

Kletzer adds to our understanding of the magnitude of the costs and benefits of free trade. She presents a focused examination of the relationship between changes in international trade, employment, and job displacement for a sample of U.S. manufacturing industries. The link between international trade and domestic jobs is also explored through studies of both net and gross employment job change.

Employee Ownership After Privatization: Governance Institutions And Firm Performance In Romania, John S. Earle, ÁLmos Telegdy

Reports

This paper studies the governance institutions and performance consequences of privatization through management-employee buyout (MEBO) in Romania. Detailed firm-level survey data are used to analyze ownership rights practices concerning voting, dividend payment, and sales of shares, and to study the continued role of the state through restructuring restrictions in the privatization contracts, difficulties in installment payment, and possible renationalization of shares. Comprehensive privatization and registry data are used to estimate the productivity performance of industrial MEBOs, compared with mass transfers to dispersed individuals, sales to domestic and foreign blockholders, and continued ownership by the state. We find that the ownership …