Imposing and Testing for Shape Restrictions in Flexible Parametric Models

In many economic models, theory restricts the shape of functions, such as monotonicity or curvature conditions. This article reviews and presents a framework for constrained estimation and inference to test for shape conditions in parametric models. We show that “regional” shape-restricting estimators have important advantages in terms of model fit and flexibility (as opposed to standard “local” or “global” shape-restricting estimators). In our empirical illustration, this is the first article to impose and test for all shape restrictions required by economic theory simultaneously in the “Berndt and Wood” data. We find that this dataset is consistent with “duality theory,” whereas previous studies have found violations of economic theory. We discuss policy consequences for key parameters, such as whether energy and capital are complements or substitutes.     

Rhetoric and Reality of Economic Self-sufficiency Among Rural,Low-Income Mothers: A Longitudinal Study

This study examined the contributions of maternal labor force participation and marital status on economic self-sufficiency over time for rural mothers. Data were from 174 rural families participating in three waves of data collection in Rural Families Speak. χ ² and multiple logistic regression were utilized. Results revealed only one-third of mothers moved toward economic self-sufficiency over three years. Maternal education, employment status, and weekly work hours were associated with improved economic well-being. Compared to single-parent families, unmarried-couple and married-couple families had increased odds of improving economically. In an analysis of all mothers with partners, married or unmarried, martial status was not significant in economic improvement. Findings suggest the role of marriage in welfare reform for rural families should be reconsidered.

Did State Children’s Health Insurance Program Affect Married Women’s Labor Supply?

While the relationships between health insurance and the labor supply of women have been explored in the literature, little is known about the effects of offering public health insurance on the labor supply decisions of married women. This paper examines how the enactment of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) affected the labor supply decisions of married women. Our empirical analysis showed that certain groups of married women reduced their number of hours worked upon SCHIP implementation. The results imply it is possible that some wives decreased their labor supply in order to make their children eligible for public health insurance.

Labor force participation and juvenile delinquency in Taiwan: a time series analysis

This study examines the null hypothesis of Granger no-causality between labor force participation (LFP) and juvenile delinquency in Taiwan. In order to explore this issue more thoroughly, this study adopts the approach proposed by Toda and Yamamoto (1995, Journal of Econometrics, 66(1–2), 225–250). It uses official time-series data provided by the Government of Taiwan. After estimating both a four- and five-variable VAR system, one that substitutes both male and female LFP rates for the aggregate LFP rate, the primary findings of this study reveal the following: The higher the past juvenile crime rate, the lower the future aggregate and female LFP rate will be. In addition, the higher the past male LFP rate, the higher the future juvenile crime rate will be. These findings are quite robust in terms of different lag-length structures.

A Stochastic Goal Program for Employee Scheduling*

Deterministic goal programs for employee scheduling decisions attempt to minimize expected operating costs by assigning the ideal number of employees to each feasible schedule. For each period in the planning horizon, managers must first determine the amount of labor that should be scheduled for duty. These requirements are often established with marginal analysis techniques, which use estimates for incremental labor costs and shortage expenses. Typically, each period in the planning horizon is evaluated as an independent epoch. An implicit assumption is that individual employees can be assigned to schedules with as little as a single period of work. If this assumption violates local work rules, the labor requirements parameters for the deterministic goal program may be suboptimal. As we show in this research, this well-known limitation can lead to costly staffing and scheduling errors. We propose an employee scheduling model that overcomes this limitation by integrating the labor requirements and scheduling decisions. Instead of a single, externally determined staffing goal for each period, the model uses a probability distribution for the quantity of labor required. The model is free to choose an appropriate staffing level for each period, eliminating the need for a separate goal-setting procedure. In most cases this results in better, less costly decisions. In addition, the proposed model easily accommodates both linear and nonlinear under- and overstaffing penalties. We use simple examples to demonstrate many of these advantages and to illustrate the key techniques necessary to implement our model. We also assess its performance in a study of more than 1,700 simulated stochastic employee scheduling problems.     

丹麦劳动力市场模式分析

丹麦劳动力市场模式是近年来国际劳动力市场模式中非常成功的一种模式,日益受到国际社会的关注。“丹麦模式”的基本特征是将灵活化的劳动力市场、慷慨的福利制度与积极的劳动力市场政策有机结合在一起构成了一个“金三角”,成功地平衡了劳动力市场的灵活性与安全性。丹麦劳动力市场模式以其传统的价值理念、良好的社会合作机制和混合经济体制为基础。随着全球化时代社会经济条件的变化,丹麦劳动力市场模式也面临着严峻的挑战。     

产业协同集聚的资源错配效应研究

利用2003－2016年中国280个地级市的数据,分别测算了产业协同集聚指数、资本错配和劳动力错配指数,采用差分GMM方法考察产业协同集聚对资源错配的影响。结果发现：产业协同集聚的提高,会显著降低资本错配和劳动力错配指数;分地区的回归发现,东部地区产业协同集聚改善了资本错配,对劳动力错配负向作用不显著,中部地区产业协同集聚会改善资本错配,但会恶化劳动力错配,西部地区产业协同集聚则加剧了资本错配,但可以缓解劳动力错配情况。进一步作用机制分析表明,产业协同集聚水平的提高,会显著提高金融业的专业化分工,进而改善资本错配,同时会提高劳动力成本,改善劳动力错配。文章的政策含义是通过产业协同集聚,可以提高金融业的专业化分工和劳动力成本,进而缓解资本和劳动力的错配,提高经济效率,促进经济增长。     

How much is too much: Does the size of income support transfers affect labor supply?

Cash transfer programs pursue mainly protective objectives, but can also impact rural livelihoods by inducing investments in productive activities and changing household labor allocation. We adopt a continuous treatment approach to quantify how households’ labor supply responds to transfer size. We find a shift from paid labor to own farm labor and find that the transfer size is well within a level that would have disincentive effects on time spent on own farm activities. The switch from paid to own farm labor occurs at lower levels of transfers for labor-constrained households, and at higher levels for non-labor constrained households.     

关于深化剩余价值理论的思考

劳动价值理论的深化必然会引发对剩余价值理论的深化。从马克思的分析方法出发 ,可以看出剩余价值也属于商品经济的一般范畴。从马克思的商品二因素原理出发 ,剩余产品的价值即可称为剩余价值。社会主义市场经济条件下应引入剩余价值范畴。剩余价值在不同的社会制度下 ,体现不同的经济关系。     

物流成本及其管理模式的研究

物流管理是企业管理的一个热点问题。由于现代物流管理理论引入我国的时间较短 ,目前物流成本等问题的研究还处于起步阶段 ,企业中物流成本的管理仍缺乏科学的依据和指导。分析物流活动内容 ,研究物流成本的构成和属性 ,提出准确核算物流成本的ABC核算方法和物流成本全面管理体系 ,可从本质上去把握物流成本的特点 ,满足现代管理的客观需要 ,为企业降低成本 ,提高效益 ,适应激烈竞争的市场环境提供有效途径