Did wages reflect growth in productivity?

The level of productivity doubled in the U.S. nonfarm business sector between 1970 and 2006. Wages, or more accurately total compensation per hour, increased at approximately the same annual rate during that period if nominal compensation is adjusted for inflation in the same way as the nominal output measure that is used to calculate productivity. Total employee compensation as a share of national income was 66% of national income in 1970 and 64% in 2006. This measure of the labor compensation share has been remarkably stable since the 1970s. It rose from an average of 62% in the decade of the 1960s to 66% in the decades of the 1970s and 1980s and then declined to 65% in the decade of the 1990s where it has again been from 2000 until the most recent quarter.     

Growth and trade in the United States and the world economy: Overview

After the slow recovery from the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, the world economy faced slower growth than in the previous decade and even the prospect of a new global financial crisis. This paper starts by examining the reasons for the slow economic recovery and growth in the after the 2008–2009 global financial crisis and "great recession". Then, it examines the reasons the United States grew faster than other advanced countries (especially Europe and Japan), the slowing growth of emerging market economies (and even economic crisis in some of them), and whether the world is now (February 2020) sliding toward a new global financial crisis and recession.     

The economic policy mix, policy cooperation, and protectionism: Some aspects of macroeconomic interdependence among the United States, Japan, and other OECD countries

In this paper we examine the macroeconomic interdependence of Japan and the United States using the McKibbin-Sachs global (MSG) simulation model of the world economy. Our goal is to determine how shifts in macroeconomic policies in the United States or Japan affect the other country as well as the rest of the world. In particular, we examine the following three issues: (1) the likely macroeconomic ramifications for the United States, Europe, and Japan of significant budget cuts in the United States; (2) the macroeconomic implications of a protectionist tariff imposed by the United States; and (3) the scope for policy coordination among the United States, Japan, and Europe.     

Corruption, efficiency and productivity in OECD countries

Over the last decade there has been growing interest in understanding the relationship between corruption and economic performance. The principal motivation of this work is to analyze whether corruption affects the economic results of OECD countries from a productivity-based perspective. To this end, we shall adopt a frontier approach which will allow us, on the one hand, to study whether corruption conditions the efficiency levels at which the economies perform and, on the other, to determine the channels through which it can affect productivity growth, whether by influencing improvements in relative efficiency levels or by shifting the production frontier.     

Productivity,efficiency, and non-performing loans in the Chinese banking industry

In this paper, the directional distance function and the metafrontier-Luenberger productivity indicator are used to measure the efficiency and the total factor productivity in 25 Chinese commercial banks over the period between 2004 and 2010. It is found that the pure technical efficiency of the state-owned commercial banks is better than that of the joint-stock commercial banks and the city commercial banks, while non-interest income is the major source of inefficiency. In total, the Chinese banking industry performs well in terms of overall productivity. The technological scale change indicating the change of return to scale in technology is the driving force for overall productivity growth. However, the pure technical efficiency change and the pure technologic change are not significant, and the scale efficiency change has a negative effect to productivity. The potential technological relative change for the three groups is greater than zero.     

Restructuring for import competition from developing countries,I: Labor displacement and economic redeployment in the United States

The widely-held belief that imports into America have been responsible for job losses in labor intensive industries is examined. It is shown that economic growth impacts on these industries, and that productivity growth and chaning demand patterns, have been quantitatively larger than changes in trade levels affecting employment in individual industries. It is concluded that protection can do very little to affect employment trends in affected industries.     

Poverty, Housing Niches, and Health in the United States

Drawing on psychological, health, and social science literature, a housing niche model is developed that focuses on (a) housing markets and other societal processes that constrain residential choice, (b) effects of residential environments on health and access to human and social capital, and (c) family dynamic effects on health and the intergenerational consequences of particular housing niches for future health and housing choices. The model requires the examination of cumulative risks, mediating and moderating processes, and the use of multilevel statistical models. The health consequences of existing housing policies are explored and future directions for research and policy suggested .     

State Educational Investments and Economic Growth in the United States: A Path Analysis*

Objective. This article investigates direct and indirect relationships between state investments in education and economic growth measured as change in per‐capita gross state product (GSP). As a basis for selecting control variables, it also applies a conceptual framework borrowed from the cross‐national growth research. Method. We gathered 18 years of panel data on the 48 continental states and ran GLS regressions with panel corrected standard errors after executing an AR1 correction for autocorrelation. Results. Per‐capita savings deposits, college attainment, and initial GSP are the most consistent predictors of GSP growth over the 18‐year period investigated. However, all the independent variables in the model, except high school attainment, predict per‐capita GSP growth from 1997 to 2005. Conclusion. The study supports the virtues of a path model and a cross‐national framework for explaining the relationship between educational expenditures and GSP growth, especially from 1997 to 2005.     

Care earnings in the United States and 24 European countries: The role of social policy and labour market institutions

Care occupations are gendered and remain relatively poorly paid, particularly in the United States. Prior research on the ‘care penalty’ primarily points to individual, relational, and market-valuation factors in explaining the relative earnings of care workers. This study integrates these explanations with a comparative institutional perspective. Using higher-quality data and methods than previous comparative research in the field—that is, harmonized micro-data from the Current Population Survey and EU-SILC from 2005 to 2016, country and year fixed effects models, and a counterfactual analysis—we find that national variance in labour market and welfare state institutions explains most of the difference in the relative earnings of reproductive care workers between the United States and European countries. Higher rates of collective bargaining coverage, stronger employment protection and welfare state spending contribute to higher relative earnings for reproductive care occupations, and lower relative earnings for high-status nurturant care occupations. Differences in the relative earnings of care workers appear to be mostly a construct of social policy and labour market institutions rather than individual, relational, and market-valuation factors.     

Educational Policy, Politics, and Mixed Heritage Students in the United States

This article describes local, state, and federal policies related to collecting, aggregating, and reporting data on student race and ethnicity in U.S. K-12 and postsecondary education. It traces data policy from the 1997 decision by the Office of Management and Budget to change from single-race reporting to a format that permits respondents to choose more than one race, to the October 2007 issuance of final guidance from the Department of Education. Taking a K-20 perspective, I consider how policies for data collection and reporting may affect educational and developmental outcomes for students, as well as local, state, and national education policy environments.     

Approaches to Homelessness Policy in Europe, the United States, and Australia

Workable and effective policies addressing homelessness need to be based on a clear definition of homelessness. This overview of recent policies in the European Union, the U.S., and Australia shows that, even at the very basic level of being able to define and enumerate the homeless, policy approaches are extremely variable. Research indicates the growing significance of the "new homeless," consisting of families, women, and children. Homelessness also needs to be seen as something dynamic that may involve movement into and out of housing and other supports over time. Older policies that address only limited kinds of homelessness and which do not recognize the dynamics involved are likely to be less effective. "Good practice" policy incorporates these changing understandings of homelessness by addressing the housing, psychological and social needs of the homeless, as well as integrating across programs and increasing independence through capacity building .     

美国区域研究的起源、性质和挑战

A .坦斯曼 (AlanTansman ,加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校东亚语言文学系教授 )指出 ,区域研究是一种翻译 ,是“一种谋求通过一个跨学科的透镜来了解、分析和阐释外国文化的事业”。“了解、分析和阐释”另一种文化———无论对一名想了解中国的美国人来说 ,还是对一名想了解印度的安哥拉人来说———都不可避免地要翻译。这首先要求外来者努力理解另一种社会和文化的假设、含义、结构和动态 ;但也为他们创造了机会 ,去扩展 ,甚至挑战他们对自己的社会和文化的理解。“跨文化的透镜”是不可或缺的 ,因为任何单一的学科都无法充分地理解另一种社…     

中、英、德、美四国制造业环境保护分析与比较

制造业是一个国家发展和强大的基石,是经济高速增长的强大动力来源,同时也是产生环境污染的主要部门,环境污染治理是制造业实现可持续发展的重要内容。英、德、关三国针对制造业的不同特点,在环境污染治理费支出、环境相关税收以及固体废物处置等方面采取了不同的措施。中国制造业必须走环境友好型的“新型制造业”发展道路,建立环境管理体系,实施清洁生产,以环境保护取胜,实现经济与环境的“双赢”。     

The role of productivity growth and farmers’ income protection policies in the decline of relative farm prices in the United States

The paper emphasizes three interrelated questions about the decline in relative farm to non-farm prices in the United States since 1973: (1) Is it unusual, (2) What caused it, and (3) Is it likely to continue? We find that based on historical and international evidence this phenomenon may be considered unusual. Separating farm price and income support in 1973 and growing relative productivity in agriculture have been the major contributors to changing the trend of the relative farm goods inflation. This trend is likely to continue based on predicted steady growth of relative agricultural productivity and continuation of direct payments and other forms of farm income support policies.     

Conservative Ideas and Social Policy in the United States

This article explores social policy development in the United States since the beginning of the George W. Bush presidency. Starting from an analysis of the discourse about compassionate conservatism at the centre of the 2000 presidential campaign and proceeding to a discussion of the meaning of the more recent ownership society blueprint, it underlines the fragmented nature of the conservative policy agenda in the United States. Yet, the article suggests that, despite this fragmentation, the ideological dominance of the right and the related absence of needed reform in key policy areas are of great significance for the future of federal social policy. Overall, the article shows how paying close attention to the nature of conservative ideas improves our understanding of social policy development in the United States. As argued, the old liberal and the traditionalist sides of American conservatism have inspired distinct yet related blueprints and reform proposals that both promote a scaling-down of existing federal social programmes and a return to traditional forms of economic security (i.e. charity and personal savings). The article underlines the relationship between these blueprints and policy drift.     

Part-time employment and worker health in the United States

A growing body of research has highlighted the consequences of part-time employment for workers’ health and well-being. However, these studies have yielded inconsistent results and relied on cross-sectional data. In addition, relatively little empirical research has explored whether the effect of working part-time on health varies by gender, particularly in the United States. Using longitudinal data from three waves of the General Social Survey panel (2010–2012–2014), our study examined the association between part-time employment and perceived health among U.S employees, and whether this association varied by gender. The results showed that part-time workers were less likely to report poor self-rated health than full-time workers, especially among males. The pattern of results was consistent across empirical approaches—including generalized estimating equations and random effects models, with an extensive set of covariates. Taken together, these findings suggest that for U.S. employees, working part-time appears to be beneficial or at least not detrimental to perceived health, which warrants further investigation.     

Social and Professional Status and Political Values in Russia,Germany, and the United States

A comparison of political values in Russia, Germany, and the United States shows that while there are similarities, Russian respondents are much more in favor of government providing for people's needs than is the case in Germany and the United States. In all three countries, values vary from stratum to stratum.