A model on the escape from the Malthusian trap

We consider a demoeconomic model where output is produced using physical capital, human capital and technology as inputs. Human capital depends on the number of people and the level of education in the economy. The dynamics of labour, physical capital, education and technology are endogenously determined such as to reflect the interdependence between economic and demographic factors. The longrun path of the economy and in particular the possibility to escape the Malthusian trap crucially depend on technological progress, which provides for economy wide increasing returns to scale. The build up of technology is positively related to the stock of human capital. Our model predicts that positive population growth is sufficient to escape the Malthusian trap. Received: 22 August 1996 / Accepted: 11 December 1997     

Wellbeing Matters in Kuwait: The Alnowair’s Bareec Education Initiative

Social Indicators Research - Wellbeing is predictive of improved learning outcomes, better mental health, prosocial and civic behavior, higher work productivity, and enhanced life satisfaction....     

Globalization and workplace performance in Canada: Cross-sectional and dynamic analyses of productivity and wage outcomes

We start from the premise that firm productivity differences need to be taken into account in the examination of the determination of wages and, more broadly, earnings inequality. Unlike most sociological studies of globalization, in this study using Canadian data we incorporate direct measurement (of some aspects) of globalization, and examine closely the association between workplace productivity and wages on the one hand, and exporting, foreign ownership and outsourcing on the other. We conduct cross-sectional and dynamic analyses. We find the following: (i) there is a relationship between exporting and productivity across different model specifications; (ii) the effects on productivity kick in when a workplace is substantially rather than marginally engaged in export markets; (iii) productivity increases are markedly greater in workplaces where export intensity has increased in prior periods; (iv) productivity is higher in workplaces that are wholly foreign owned; (v) wages are also associated with productivity and with both exporting and foreign ownership.     

The nonlinear behavior of competition: the impact of talent compression on competition

The competitiveness of a firm is intimately related to the productivity of its components. The distribution of profits should then be highly correlated with the distribution of productivity—the more equal distribution of productivity the more equal distribution of rents. To assess this argument, the present paper examines the time series behavior of competition within Major League Baseball. The above logic would suggest that the reason for the improvement in the competitive balance in MLB is a more equal distribution of playing talent. In the end, the improvement appears to be driven by increased player homogeneity rather than institutional changes.

不同年龄组流动人口劳动生产率的差异 ——基于2015年中国流动人口动态监测调查数据的分析

基于2015年中国流动人口动态监测调查数据,采用明瑟工资方程研究了受教育程度和工作经验对不同年龄组流动人口劳动生产率影响的差异问题。结果表明:不同年龄组流动人口的劳动生产率呈倒“U”型分布,30—34岁年龄组的流动人口劳动生产率最高;从总体上看,受教育程度几乎对各个年龄组流动人口的劳动生产率均具有显著的正向影响,且对25—29岁年龄组的影响最大,随着年龄的上升,受教育程度对流动人口劳动生产率的影响呈先递增后递减的趋势,对55岁及以上年龄组的影响不再显著;工作经验仅对15—24岁年龄组流动人口的劳动生产率具有显著的正向影响,对30岁及以上年龄组的影响则显著为负,且工作经验与部分年龄组流动人口的劳动生产率呈“U”型关系。此外,性别、户口类型、流动范围、就业身份、婚姻状况和职业属性等社会基本特征变量对大部分年龄组流动人口的劳动生产率均具有显著的正向影响。     

Can Economic Growth Be Sustained? A Post‐Malthusian Perspective

In the United States and in other economically advanced countries, rapid productivity growth in the material‐producing sectors has been the major source of productivity growth for the entire economy. Over the next several decades, continuing structural change will result in a decline in employment in the material‐producing sectors to near or below 10 percent. A simulation exercise is employed to demonstrate how continued slow productivity growth in the service sectors dampens the rate of productivity growth of the entire economy. It is unlikely that productivity growth in the US economy can be sustained at anywhere near the relatively high rate achieved since the mid‐1990s.     

Working parents and total factor productivity growth

Since 1963, changes in the family composition of the US labor force explain more than half of the variability in US total factor productivity growth. Using the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, we document the rise of two (and single) working-parent families in the USA. We augment a standard growth-accounting equation to differentiate between parental and nonparental labor inputs and find that accounting for the parental composition of the labor force explains roughly 50 % of total factor productivity growth, the productivity slowdown of the 1970s, and the productivity rise of the 1990s. The parental composition of the workforce also helps to explain labor productivity differences across US states while controlling for differences in the age and gender profile of workers across states does not.     

相对于生产力而言的中国人口问题——对“中国人口问题”的定性研究

中国人口问题是关系中国经济社会发展的大问题 ,迫切需要解决。但目前对中国人口问题的认识 ,却存在诸多疑义和隐忧。按照马克思主义的方法论 ,应将中国人口问题纳入社会生产力这一终极原因作考察认识 ,并定位定性为 :相对于生产力而言的中国人口问题。缘于此 ,要根据生产力的发展要求来决取中国人口问题的解决     

Quality of Work and Aggregate Productivity

We inspect the relationship between quality of work and productivity. Using Spanish aggregate data for the period 2001–2006, we find that quality of work is an additional factor to explain productivity levels in sectors and regions. Consequently, quality of work is not only an objective per se, but it also may be a production factor able to increase the wealth of regions. In our work we use two alternatives definitions of quality of work, coming respectively from survey data and from a social indicators approach. Besides, we employ two different measurements of labour productivity, in order to test the robustness of our result. We estimate our model using a simultaneous equation model for our panel of data, and we find important differences in high and low human capital sectors. The former display a positive relationship between quality of work and productivity, while the latter show a negative relationship.     

Business visits,knowledge diffusion and productivity

We investigate whether labor mobility can be a distinct source of growth by studying the productivity impact of business visits (BVs), vis-à-vis that of other well-known drivers of productivity enhancement. Our analysis uses an unbalanced panel—covering on average 16 sectors per year in ten countries during the period 1998–2011—which combines unique and novel data on BVs sourced from the US National Business Travel Association with Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data on R&D and capital formation. We find that mobility through BVs is an effective mechanism to improve productivity, being about half that obtained by investing in R&D. This relevant finding invites viewing short-term mobility as a strategic mechanism and prospective policy tool to overcome productivity slowdowns and foster economic growth.     

改革以来中国劳动生产率的增长因素：基于产业结构的分析

改革开放以来,伴随着经济的快速成长,我国的劳动生产率在迅速提高。本文利用指数方法,从产业结构的角度实证分析了改革以来我国劳动生产率的增长因素。结果发现．劳动生产率增长的主要来自产业内部的纯生产率效应,而就业结构变动的贡献既不稳定,也不显著。在产业间劳动生产率差距不断扩大的背景下,本文最后讨论了我国劳动生产率增长中就业结构变动贡献不足的原因。     

Wage subsidies as an anti-discrimination policy

Using the statistical theory of discrimination, we argue that initial wage offers may be lower for minority workers, but that wage differences for a given level of productivity should diminish with the worker's job tenure. If a wage subsidization policy is designed so that initial wage offers are equal for majority and minority workers and is maintained for a time period sufficient to demonstrate true productivity, then wage differences for a given level of productivity should disappear. We also provide an empirical test of the effectiveness of such a policy by using a sample of participants in a government job program that enforced equal wage schedules for White and Black workers. Our results show that measured discrimination declined among program participants, supporting the hypothesis that wage subsidies would be an effective anti-discrimination policy.     

The US productivity slowdown, the baby boom, and management quality

This paper examines the relationship between the entry of the baby boom into the workforce and the productivity slowdown. Lucas (Bell J Econ 9(2):508–523, 1978) shows how management quality plays a role in determining output. The baby boom’s entry into the workforce resulted in more managers from smaller, pre-baby boom cohorts. These marginal managers were necessarily of lower quality, leading to a drop in total factor productivity. As the boomers aged, this effect was reversed. A calibrated model of managers, workers, and firms suggests that the management effects of the baby boom may explain roughly 20% of the observed productivity slowdown and resurgence.     

How performance related pay affects productivity and employment

This paper uses information from a panel of Dutch firms to investigate the labor productivity effects of performance related pay (PRP). We find that PRP increases productivity at the firm level with 9% and employment growth with 5%.     

Endogenous age discrimination

This paper shows that hiring discrimination against old workers occurs in imperfect labour markets even if individual productivity does not decrease with age and in the absence of a taste for discrimination. Search and informational frictions generate unemployment, with less productive workers facing higher risks of unemployment. Therefore, the employment status provides a signal for expected productivity. This stigma of unemployment becomes stronger with individual age and reduces the hiring opportunities of older workers. Political measures such as a reduction in dismissal protection can help to restore efficiency.     

Productivity of Older Workers: Perceptions of Employers and Employees

What determines the perceived productivity of the older worker and how does this perception compare to the perception of the productivity of the younger worker? In this study we present evidence based on data from Dutch employers and employees. Productivity perceptions are affected by one's age and one's position in the hierarchy. The young favor the young, the old favor the old, and employers value the productivity of workers less than employees do. However, there are also remarkable similarities across employers and employees. By distinguishing the various dimensions that underlie the productivity of younger and older workers, we tested whether soft qualities and abilities—e.g., reliability and commitment—are just as important as hard qualities—cognitive and physically based skills—in the eyes of both employers and employees. It appears that both employers and employees, young and old, view hard skills as far more important than soft skills.     

The role of population in social development]

This essay deals with population growth, varieties in population density, and their impacts on social development from the viewpoint of Socialism. The author's main argument can be summarized as follows: 1) population growth is a kind of social production, and it is more important than the geographical environment in relation to social development. Regarding population growth, varieties in population density, and the geographical environment as conditions of equal importance in social life is debatable. 2) the changes in population development should not be limited to the changes in number alone. As science and technology are developed, the impact of changes of population quality on social development is becoming increasingly important. 3) population growth is not the major force which determines the social outlook and social system, and it directly influences social productivity. One should not think that a large population and rapid growth rate will speed up social productivity, or that a small population and a slow growth rate will slow down the development of social productivity. The author quotes Joseph Stalin to support his argument.     

Population and employment in China]

The unequal distribution of farmlands in rural areas and the extremely low productivity in the cities were the fundamental causes of unemployment and population problems in old China. Tremendous progress was made after 1949. The serious economic disturbances caused by Lin-piao and the "Gang of Four" caused great unemployment again. The slow development of China's productivity, poor business management, the involvement of women in social activities, the morality rate decrease, and the population growth rate increase are the main reasons for China's unemployment problem. The fundamental solution is to respect the objective laws of nature and economics and to develop social productivity. In the country we should implement the total development of agricultue, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery. In towns and cities service occupations and handicraft industries should be developed, education and humanities need to be improved, and transportation, communications, and many other industries are still backward. There is high potential for development and vast opportunities for additional labor. We should constantly cultivate our high quality workforce to meet the demand of modernization. Population control is important because the higher the population growth rate the slower the accumulation of wealth. Instead of being a producer for the society the additional labor can be a burden. The vital factor in achieving the "Four Modernizations" is not the quantity of labor but the increase in productivity.     

Environmental change and out-migration: evidence from Nepal

Scholars and activists have hypothesized a connection between environmental change and out-migration. In this paper, we test this hypothesis using data from Nepal. We operationalize environmental change in terms of declining land cover, rising times required to gather organic inputs, increasing population density, and perceived declines in agricultural productivity. In general, environmental change is more strongly related to short- than long-distance moves. Holding constant the effects of other social and economic variables, we find that local moves are predicted by perceived declines in productivity, declining land cover, and increasing time required to gather firewood. Long-distance moves are predicted by perceived declines in productivity, but the effect is weaker than in the model of short-distance mobility. We also show that effects of environmental change vary by gender and ethnicity, with women being more affected by changes in the time required to gather fodder and men by changes in the time to gather firewood, and high-caste Hindus generally being less affect than others by environmental change.     

Environmental Change and Out-Migration: Evidence from Nepal

Scholars and activists have hypothesized a connection between environmental change and out-migration. In this paper we test this hypothesis using data from Nepal. We operationalize environmental change in terms of declining land cover, rising times required to gather organic inputs, increasing population density, and perceived declines in agricultural productivity. In general, environmental change is more strongly related to short- than long-distance moves. Holding constant the effects of other social and economic variables, we find that local moves are predicted by perceived declines in productivity, declining land cover, and increasing time required to gather firewood. Long-distance moves are predicted by perceived declines in productivity, but the effect is weaker than in the model of short-distance mobility. We also show that effects of environmental change vary by gender and ethnicity, with women being more affected by changes in the time required to gather fodder and men by changes in the time to gather firewood, and high caste Hindus generally being less affect than others by environmental change.