Private vs. social returns to higher education: Some new cross-sectional evidence

University presidents and some academic economists assert that expenditures on higher education further human capital formation and thus promote economic growth. Rising earnings differentials between college and high school educated persons seem consistent with this hypothesis. Statistical evidence, however, suggests that increased state governmental spending on universities is negatively associated with economic growth, even though having more college graduates, ceteris paribus, is growth enhancing. Further evidence shows that governmental higher education spending has little impact on college participation. The notions that colleges are primarily credentialing devices and that universities have used incremental funds largely for non-instructional purposes are consistent with the results.     

Political use of income: Some experimental evidence from Capitol Hill

The political-cost hypothesis predicts that managers in firms that are good political targets will use the leeway permitted by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to lower income and, thereby, reduce their political exposure. Though the political-cost hypothesis has been widely tested, past tests have assumed that politicians use accounting income when selecting targets for costly legislation and/or regulation. This article uses experimental methods to test the validity of this assumption. The article employs a factorial survey design in which vignettes describing various factors related to a legislative bill introducing new regulatory costs on an industry were sent to aides of each U.S. member of Congress. The results suggest that legislators are less likely to impose new costs on industries with low income, which is consistent with the political-cost hypothesis.     

Farm pluriactivity and rural policy: Some evidence from Wales1

Drawing on data from 427 interviews in Wales, U.K., this paper examines the ability of internal and external variables to explain the phenomenon of pluriactivity in farm households. It is the household as a unit, and the process of maintaining its viability, that forms the focus of the study, with pluriactivity being defined as the generation of income additional to that from primary agriculture, by any member of the household.The survey revealed that, whilst primary agriculture retains its position as the main income, only a minority of households did not have a supplemental source of income. Indeed, these ‘other sources’ can be financially very important. Off-farm work was the most significant type. A degree of differentiation was apparent between farmer, spouse and other family members and the type of incomegenerating activity.Internal variables (particularly physical farm size, farm type, education and ethnicity) are shown to have some statistical ability to explain the patterns of pluriactivity.Pluriactivity is of interest in the present environment of agricultural policy reform. However, there is some evidence that pluriactivity is not driven solely by financial pressure or policy measures aimed at farm diversification. The paper concludes that policy aimed at the diversification of the farm business may be less than successful as many internal and external factors appear to work to restrict such activities. Most of the contemporary growth in pluriactivity has been in the form of off-farm jobs — a policy sector presently divorced from farm/agricultural policy.     

Public attitudes towards unions: Some Canadian evidence

Despite a growing body of research on attitudes towards unions in the U.S. and, to a lesser extent Britain, surprisingly little is known about this topic in Canada. We attempt to fill this gap by examining data from a survey of 736 randomly selected residents of the western Canadian cities of Winnipeg and Edmonton. We find a high degree of latent unionism among non-unionized labor force members: 40 percent would join a union if one existed in their workplace. Union attitudes are better predictors of willingness to join than are demographic and socioeconomic variables, although we can predict instrumental beliefs about unions with some accuracy using such objective measures. This article is based on a paper presented at the Canadian Industrial Relations Association annual meeting, June 1983, in Vancouver, British Columbia. We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Population Research Laboratory at the University of Alberta and its Director, Professor L. W. Kennedy, in making available results of the 1981 Edmonton and Winnipeg Area Studies. We also thank Val Caskey for typing services. Helpful comments on an earlier draft were provided by an anonymous reviewer.     

Groom price-female human capital: Some empirical evidence

This paper examines the effect of female human capital endowment on the groom price or dowry by using a newly available data set that was created by surveying the middle-class residents of Patna, Bihar. The estimates based on the OLS and 2SLS suggest the existence of positive association between the two variables for the sample under study. The result can be viewed as a positive; albeit, a small step towards settling the issue as to whether or not dowry is an obstacle to female human capital formation.     

The coevolution of trade agreements and investment treaties: Some evidence from network analysis

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs) are expected to promote trade and investment relationships. One critical feature of such agreements is the network, so the multiplex coevolution of RTAs and BITs should be captured by the dynamics of their two networks. Although many studies have examined the roles of RTAs and BITs, most studies do not account for crucial network properties. This study explores how RTAs and BITs coevolve by applying a stochastic actor-oriented model of multiplex network evolution. In particular, we examine the roles of (i) cross-network dyadic interinfluences and (ii) within- and cross-network preferential attachments to discuss the dynamic relationships between RTAs and BITs. The results are as follows. First, our estimation supports cross-network dyadic interinfluences. Countries that sign a BIT are willing to establish an RTA, while those that sign an RTA are reluctant to establish a BIT. Second, concerning preferential attachments, countries prefer to sign BITs with partners that have more RTA and BIT links. However, countries tend to form RTAs with partners that have more BIT links but are reluctant to form RTAs with those that have more RTA links. We discuss possible justifications for these results, including arguments regarding the benefits and costs associated with the formation of RTAs and BITs.     

Happiness,satisfaction and socio-economic conditions: Some international evidence

This paper examines the relationships between socio-economic conditions and happiness or satisfaction of individuals in 15 countries. In agreement with earlier studies, age, health and marital status are strongly associated with happiness and satisfaction. In seeming contrast with other studies, unemployment does not appear to be associated with happiness, although it is clearly associated with satisfaction. Income is also strongly associated with satisfaction, but its association with happiness is weaker. These results point to happiness and satisfaction as two distinct spheres of well-being. While the first would be relatively independent of economic factors, the second would be strongly dependent.     

Consequences of work force reduction: Some employer and union evidence

Despite the popularity of workforce cutbacks in the 1990s, largescale empirical stud-ies at the bargaining unit level are rare. I explore some of the consequences of per-manent work force reduction using data from both employer and union respondents. About 56 percent of employer participants and 57 percent of local union officials reported a permanent reduction of bargaining unit employees. In comparing bargain-ing units that experienced a permanent reduction of union members, results obtained from both employers and union officials indicated a significant negative impact on over-all employee satisfaction and labor climate. Additional analyses with union respon-dents revealed that the reduction of bargaining unit employees was also associated with a higher rate of grievances and absenteeism and poorer relations between union members and their supervisors.     

The effect of unionization on labor productivity: Some time-series evidence

This paper presents evidence concerning the effect of unionization on the average productivity of labor using time-series data from the private, domestic sector of the U.S. economy over the 1948–73 period. Aggregate technology is specified by a constant-returns-to-scale, Cobb-Douglas production function which incorporates union and nonunion labor and proxies for both embodied and disembodied technical change. Maximum likelihood estimates of the model indicate that union membership significantly decreased average labor productivity, holding constant the quality and mix of capital and labor and controlling for cyclical effects. I thank John Addison, Maxim Engers, Barry Hirsch, William Johnson, Duane Leigh, Roger Sherman, and Jonathan Skinner for helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper. Of course, responsibility for remaining errors is mine.     

The effect of unionization on labor productivity: Some additional evidence

Following Brown and Medoff (1978), a number of studies have investigated the effect of unionization on labor productivity using a log-linear, Cobb-Douglas model of technology. To derive this model, a first-order Taylor-series approximation to the intrinsically nonlinear unionization variable is made; the resulting linear equation is estimated with generalized least-squares (GLS) techniques. We demonstrate that this approximation introduces a bias that necessarily results in an overstatement of the absolute value of the exact union productivity effect. We illustrate the magnitude of this bias by comparing GLS estimates of the linear Brown-Medoff model with GLS estimates of the exact, nonlinear relationship, using aggregate time-series data from the private domestic sector of the U.S. economy.     

On the formation of inflationary expectations: Some empirical evidence from Finland, 1979–1980

The results of a survey of inflationary expectations executed in 1979–1980 are reported. The respondents form one “informed” and one “uninformed” group. The purpose of the study are: (1) to test standard hypotheses on the formation of inflationary expectations, (2) to study the term structure of those expectations, (3) to study their dispersion among individuals, (4) to investigate the uncertainty in the formation of expectations.The results suggest that the adaptive expectations formation model works best for the uninformed group, while the extrapolative model is more satisfactory for the informed group. The lagged rate of unemployment was found to be a significant explanatory variable as well. Long-run inflationary expectations turned out to be very similar to short-run predictions, although the dispersion among individuals was greater in the former case. The uninformed respondents also expressed expectations with a greater dispersion than the informed respondents. The standard deviation of the expectations was quite stable over the observation period. The proxy used for subjective uncertainty also indicates a high degree of stability.     

What is really different about rural and urban firms? Some evidence from Northern Ireland

The economic structure of rural regions in Europe is becoming increasingly similar to that of urban regions. Therefore, what is really different about rural and urban firms? This question is investigated here through a comparison of matched manufacturing plants in rural and urban areas of Northern Ireland. The analysis finds that remote rural, accessible rural and urban manufacturing plants that are matched with respect to their industrial sector, size, age and ownership structure are nevertheless different in certain key respects. Remote rural manufacturing plants are seen to follow a production-cost-oriented export strategy, while accessible rural firms adopt a more innovation-oriented export strategy. In contrast, urban manufacturing plants use their reputation-based competitive advantage to service relatively large local markets. The competitiveness of rural firms is particularly influenced by the quality of transport infrastructure, the availability of suitably qualified staff, and external trade factors. Given this complex set of factors, effective policy initiatives in this area may involve measures that cut across departmental and national boundaries.     

Inequality and growth: evidence from panel cointegration

This paper uses heterogeneous panel cointegration techniques to estimate the long-run effect of income inequality on per-capita income for 46 countries over the period 1970–1995. We find that inequality has a negative long-run effect on income, both for the sample as a whole and for important sub-groups within the sample (developed countries, developing countries, democracies, and non-democracies). The effect is economically important, with a magnitude about half as high as the magnitude of an increase in the investment share.     

Privatisation Effects: Some Evidence from Serbia

This paper analyses basic outcome and effects of the privatisation process in Serbia. The first two parts of the paper deal with general achievements of the newest privatisation plan adopted in 2001. We present a brief background of the results of the privatisation process, analysing changes in the structure of enterprises by ownership status, the number of privatised firms, revenues earned through privatisation, the rate of successful transactions, and other relevant privatisation indicators. The paper continues with an analysis of a survey conducted within a sample of Serbian enterprises offering some evidence about performance, competition, and restructuring within different types of firms: socially owned, privatised, and new private. Contrary to the broadly accepted statement that new private firms are leading in transition economies, according to our estimation of the effects of the ownership type on firm performance, it appears that the privatised sector seems to be more active. A comparison of the survey results with findings for three neighbouring countries indicates that there is no general conclusion about the way how ownership status of a firm affects its performance in a transition economy. Although conclusions drawn from our survey analysis should be regarded as preliminary and limited by the quality of survey data and could not be generalised for the privatisation process in other transition countries, the findings we present, including the comparison made with other economies, could contribute to the understanding of both privatisation effects in general and effects remarkable for the Serbian economy.      

The formation and administration of labor policy by the NLRB: Evidence from economic and ULP strike rulings

Conclusion and Implications My result cast doubt on normative assessment of NLRB performance. To illustrate, Gross concludes that the Dotson Board’sdecisions caused the labor movement to atrophy. If the Dotson Board ruled for unions in roughly the same proportion of striker replacement cases as the Gould Board, however, Gross’ conclusion is questionable.     

Religion and social capital: evidence from European countries

This exploratory study investigates how various aspects related to religion are related to different dimensions of social capital, based on the latest data from the European Values Study. The study intends to include as many religion-related variables as possible and to cover all main dimensions of social capital. In addition to regression analysis, cluster analysis is used for further exploration of religious composition and its consequences for social capital. The broadest conclusions are that religion is highly related to social capital, but the cognitive dimensions of social capital seem to have a closer relationship with social capital than the structural dimensions. Also, many relationships may be overlooked if not enough different religion-related aspects and social capital dimensions are analysed.     

Risk preferences and child investments: evidence from Mexico

This paper examines how parental risk aversion influences child investments. Using an experimental measure of risk aversion from the Mexican Family Life Survey, I find that boys have higher weight-for-age and BMI-for-age in households where the mother is highly risk averse. The higher BMI is not necessarily healthy because the boys are more likely to be in the overweight range and less likely to be in the normal range. I also find evidence that risk averse mothers spend more on their son’s schooling related expenditures such as materials, uniforms, and spending money. A comparison of siblings reveals a gender gap in child investments that is increasing in maternal risk aversion.     

Gender equality trade-offs re-examined: evidence from Swiss cantons

Decades of comparative research on gender inequality reported a counter-intuitive finding: state support for working mothers may paradoxically decrease gender equality within the labour market. Though this form of an inclusion-equality trade-off is specific to paid work, similar trade-offs may occur with respect to unpaid work. The present study discusses four such trade-offs and provides fresh empirical evidence from a within-country comparison of the 26 Swiss cantons. The analyses explore whether (on a macro level) welfare state support for maternal employment is negatively associated with vertical segregation, horizontal segregation, female workload or paternal involvement. Cantons with higher maternal employment show more vertical segregation and less paternal involvement, but these two inverse correlations are related to the cultural rather than the political context. The paper concludes with a discussion as to whether these cultural effects complement previous findings of politically induced trade-offs or indirectly support them.