1,721,002 research outputs found
Does strict employment protection discourage job creation? Evidence from Croatia
Get PDFEmployment protection legislation in Croatia is among the most strict in Europe. Firing is difficult and costly, and flexible forms of employment are limited. Is this apparent rigidity reflected-as one would expect based on standard economic theory-in low labor market dynamics? Is job creation low and hiring limited? Is the job security of insiders achieved at the cost of outsiders not being able to enter thelabor market? The author attempts to answer these questions by examining job flows. If the employment protection legislation is binding, then job and worker turnover should be low. He shows that this is indeed the case. Hiring is limited and the average job tenure is very long in Croatia. Job destruction is low, however job creation is still lower. The result is accumulation of unemployment, in large part due to new labor market entrants not being able to find a job. The high degree of job protection also seems to strengthen the bargaining position of insiders and results in relatively high wages. So, wages in Croatia are higher than among its competitors, even after adjusting for productivity. These high labor costs are likely to contribute to limited job creation in existing firms, but also are likely to discourage the entry of-and thus job creation in-new firms. The author presents evidence that firm growth has been indeed limited in Croatia, contributing to the low employment level. The author examines other potential causes of high unemployment in Croatia (the unemployment benefit system, labor taxation, the wage structure, and skill and spatial mismatches). He argues that they do not play a substantial part in accounting for poor labor market outcomes in Croatia. The author concludes that the stringent employment protection legislation is the key labor market institution behind low job creation and high unemployment. Based on this he recommends specific measures aimed at liberalizing the labor market to foster job creation and employment.Labor Management and Relations,Labor Policies,Labor Markets,Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade Finance and Investment,Labor Markets,Labor Management and Relations,Labor Standards,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies
Estimating an Import Demand Function in Developing Countries: A Structural Econometric Approach with Applications to India and Sri Lanka
No full textOwing to the unavailability of time-series data on the domestic market-clearing price of imports, the estimation of notional price and income elasticities of aggregate import demand remains a daunting task for a large number of developing countries. This paper develops a structural econometric model of a two-goods representative agent economy that incorporates a binding foreign exchange constraint at the administered prices of imports. A theoretically consistent parameterization of the "virtual relative price" of imports circumvents the data problem, and thus enables the estimation of income and price responses by cointegration approach. The price and income elasticity estimates for India and Sri Lanka, in contrast to the extant literature, have correct signs, high statistical significance, and plausible magnitudes. Copyright � 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Land Market Restrictions, Women's Labour Force Participation and Wages in a Rural Economy
No full textCultural Inheritance, Gender, and Intergenerational Occupational Mobility: Evidence from a Developing Economy
Get PDFThis paper presents evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from agriculture to the nonfarm sector using survey data from Nepal with a focus on the role played by cultural inheritance and gender norms. In the absence of credible instruments, the degree of selection on observables is used as a guide to the degree of selection on unobservables ´a la Altonji et. al. (2005) to address the unobserved genetic correlations. The results show that cultural inheritance plays a causal role in intergenerational occupational correlation between the mother and daughter. In contrast, there is no robust evidence that cultural inheritance is important for sons’ occupation choice. A moderate genetic correlation can easily explain away the estimated partial correlation in non-farm participation between the father and a son.Intergenerational Occupational Correlations, Non-Farm Participation, Gender effect, Cultural Inheritance, Selection on Observables, Selection on Unobservables
Public Information and Household Expectations in Developing Countries: Evidence From a Natural Experiment
Get PDFGovernments provide public information about economic conditions to reduce information imperfections and facilitate efficient allocation of resources. Do households in developing countries rely on public signals to inform themselves about market conditions? To identify the importance of public information in households’ price expectations, we take advantage of a unique natural experiment in Ecuador where the published inflation rate had been different from the true rate over a period of 14 months due to a software error. We find that the public signal about prices plays an important role in households’ price expectations; the effect is stronger for better educated families, older people and men.Public Information, Price Expectations, Developing Countries, Natural Experiment, Heterogeneity
2011): “Intergenerational Occupational Mobility in Rural Economy: Evidence from Nepal and Vietnam
No full textThis paper presents evidence on intergenerational occupational mobility from agriculture to the nonfarm sector using survey data from Nepal. In the absence of credible instruments, the degree of selection on observables is used as a guide to the degree of selection on unobservables á la Altonji et. al. (2005) to address the unobserved genetic correlations relevant for occupation choice. The results show that a moderate ability correlation can easily explain away the observed partial correlation in non-farm participation between the father and a son. In contrast, the partial correlation in occupation choice between mother and daughter is much stronger, and is unlikely to be driven by genetic correlations alone. The results suggest that mother’s nonfarm participation plays a causal role in daughter’s choice of nonfarm occupation, possibly because of “cultural inheritance ” through role model and learning effects, and transfer of reputation and social capital
Estimating Import Demand Function in Developing Countries: A Structural Econometric Approach with Applications to India and Sri Lanka
Get PDFDue to the unavailability of time series data on domestic market clearing price of imports, the estimation ofnotional price and income elasticities of aggregate import demand remains a daunting task for a large number of developing countries. This paper develops a structural econometric model of a two goods representative agent economy that incorporates a binding foreign exchange constraint at the administered prices of imports. A theoretically consistent parameterization of the ‘virtual relative price’ of imports circumvents the data problem, and thus enables the estimation of income and price responses by cointegration approach. The price and income elasticity estimates for India and Sri Lanka, in contrast to the extant literature, have correct signs, high statistical significance, and plausible magnitudes.Import Demand, Foreign Exchange Rationing, Virtual price, India, Sri Lanka, Cointegration
Beyond dualism: Agricultural productivity, small towns, and structural change in Bangladesh
No full text- …
