Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Economic aspects of Minimum wage'

Está dissertação apresenta uma análise dos mecanismos por trás do equilíbrio entre demanda e oferta por mão de obra qualificada no mercado de trabalho brasileiro. São estimados os impactos de choques exógenos ao mercado de trabalho como: (i) abertura comercial chinesa, (ii) política recente de valorização do salário mínimo e (iii) aumento da oferta de mão de obra qualificada sobre os diferenciais salariais dos trabalhadores de diferentes níveis educacionais - também conhecidos como prêmio da educação. Como estratégia metodológica, os dados dos Censos Demográficos de 2000 e 2010, foram agrupados para cada uma das 530 microrregiões brasileiras tornando possível a eliminação de possíveis vieses causados por fatores intrínsecos a cada uma das microrregiões. Além disso, também foram utilizados os dados de comércio internacional - entre Brasil/China e China/demais países - disponíveis na base da UN Comtrade. As importações e exportações foram agrupadas em setores e os respectivos choques distribuídos entre as microrregiões do país proporcionalmente à porcentagem da mão de obra de cada setor empregada no local. Os resultados encontrados mostram que, ao contrário do sendo comum, o boom comercial chinês não foi um dos principais determinantes da melhora recente da distribuição salarial no Brasil. Os modelos estimados apontaram para efeitos significativos do salário mínimo sobre o diferencial dos trabalhadores semiqualificados e do aumento da oferta de trabalhadores com ensino superior sobre os diferenciais salariais dos trabalhadores qualificados.
This thesis presents an analysis of the mechanisms behind the balance between supply and demand for skilled labor in the Brazilian labor market. Its estimated impacts of exogenous shocks to the labor market as: (i) Chinese trade boom, (ii) minimum wage valorization policy and (iii) the increase in skilled labor supply. As a methodological strategy, data from Demographic Census 2000 and 2010 were grouped for each of the 530 Brazilian micro-regions making it possible to eliminate biases caused by intrinsic factors of each of the micro-regions. Furthermore, the UN Comtrade international trade data were also used. Imports and exports were grouped into sectors and their shock distributed among the country\'s micro-regions in proportion to the percentage of the workforce employed in each sector in region. The results show that the China\'s trade boom is not a major determinant of the recent improvement of the wage distribution in Brazil. The estimated models pointed to significant effects of the minimum wage on the differential of semi-skilled workers and the increased supply of workers with higher education on the wage gap of skilled workers

Orientador: Alexandre Gori Maia
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia
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Resumo: Há uma força de trabalho cuja presença, contribuição e impacto no desenvolvimento socio-econômico não pode ser negado em nenhum lugar do mundo, embora haja pouco ou nenhum reconhecimento. Em função disso, em muitos casos, esses trabalhadores sofrem negligência e condições de trabalho inaceitáveis: os trabalhadores domésticos. Vindos de um background de trabalho familiar não pago e servidão que engloba acompanhamento (de crianças a idosos) e faxina, pessoas que se encontram neste trabalho - normalmente mulheres de famílias pobres - são comumente não consideradas como trabalhadores que merecem tratamento decente e direitos básicos no trabalho como todos os outros trabalhadores. Nas décadas recentes, em países avançados, a participação das mulheres na força de trabalho aumentou em muitas economias. Este período é caracterizado por alterações nos arranjos de trabalho e intensidade de trabalho e o sempre declinante Estado de Bem Estar Social, no qual as provisões do estado considerando serviços sociais estão escassos. A importância dos trabalhadores domésticos em tais circunstâncias - ambos nativos ou migrantes - não pode ser exagerado. De fato, serve como base para muitas economias ao redor do mundo. No entanto, pouco tem sido feito para melhorar e minimizar os desafios que esses trabalhadores enfrentam, como remuneração baixa, falta de proteção social, exploração, discriminação, trabalho infantil, tráfico de seres humanos, desregulação, abuso sexual, entre outros abusos. Gana é um dos países onde o trabalho doméstico é cada vez mais comum e estabelecido, mas não sem os desafios mencionados acima, em especial o trabalho infantil. No contexto de um país em desenvolvimento como Gana, o Estado dificilmente oferece soluções para famílias que permitiria que as pessoas trabalhassem fora de suas casas com tranquilidade. Muito precisa ser feito no intuito de promover condições de trabalho decentes para os trabalhadores domésticos
Abstract: There is a workforce whose presence, contributions and impact on socio-economic development cannot be denied anywhere they are found in the world, in spite of no or little recognition accorded them in several places - domestic workers. In many cases, they suffer neglect and unacceptable working conditions due to lack of adequate recognition of their presence as well as the value of their work to societies and economies. Coming from a background of unpaid family work and servitude that entails care-giving and housekeeping, people who find themselves in this work - often women and from poorer backgrounds - are usually not considered as workers that deserve decent treatment and basic rights at work like all other workers. In recent decades, in advanced and developing countries, women's labor force participation is increasing in many economies. This very period is characterized by changes in work arrangement, intensity of work in the face of ever declining welfare state where provisions of the state concerning care as well as social services are lagging. The importance of domestic workers in such circumstances - both as nationals or migrants- cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, paid domestic work is serving as a backbone to many economies worldwide. Notwithstanding, not much have been done to improve upon challenges they face that include low remunerations, lack of social protection, exploitation, de juro and de facto discrimination, child labor, human trafficking, unregulated agencies, sexual harassment and other abuses. Ghana is one of the countries where domestic employment is increasingly prevalent - but not without challenges such as mentioned above, especially child labor. In the context of a developing country like Ghana, the state hardly provides solutions for household concerns to enable people work outside households in tranquility. This makes domestic workers important partners for development of Ghana. However, a lot needs to be done in order to promote decent working conditions for domestic workers
Mestrado
Economia Social e do Trabalho
Mestre em Desenvolvimento Econômico

Poverty is a significant world wide issue. Although literature on the impact of a minimum wage in the agricultural sector is rather limited, previous empirical research shows that employment was reduced with the implementation of a minimum wage. The following questions are studied: - Does the implementation of a minimum wage have any effect on employment in the agricultural sector of the North-West province? - Is there any relation between poverty and unemployment? - Does the implementation of a minimum wage and sectoral determination have any impact on social-economic issues. The empirical study is carried out by way of a questionnaire from which responses are investigated. A random sample was used to evaluate the effect of a minimum wage on employment and social-economic factors in the North-West province. The target population includes all the affiliated members of Agri North-West. This group is negative about labour laws and experiences that the implementation of a minimum wage has a negative effect on employment. The agricultural sector provides many job opportunities in South Africa. Seeing that a minimum wage has a negative impact on employment in the North-West province, further research is recommended.
Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

This study looks at the welfare implications of the minimum wage in China, and covers three topics: the minimum wage and wage inequality, the minimum wage and employment, and the minimum wage and the gender wage gap. The main finding is that the welfare implications of the minimum wage in China are mixed, with both positive and negative welfare effects. Four main conclusions are reached. Firstly, minimum wages can effectively reduce overall wage inequality at the municipal level (despite non-compliance) through raising individual wages at the lower end of the wage distribution. Secondly, minimum wages generally have significantly negative effects on urban employment with some indication of more marked effects for traditionally disadvantaged groups such as youth, older workers, and women. Thirdly, minimum wages significantly raise women’s wages relative to men’s at the lower quantiles of wage distribution, thus reducing the gender wage gap. Together with the second result, this means that the minimum raises women’s relative wages, while lowering their employment. Fourthly, these three results are especially robust during 2004-2007, when the minimum wage system was reinforced.

This dissertation examines whether the introduction of a national minimum wage may contribute to social justice and economic growth in South Africa. After highlighting the socio-economic environment of both countries, the dissertation analyses the minimum wage from an international law perspective. Emphasis is put on the essential elements that minimum wage frameworks must address, namely: universal coverage of the minimum wage; the periodic adjustment of the minimum wage; interaction with collective bargaining; and compliance. These elements are also considered while reviewing and setting into context the current German minimum wage legislation. Subsequently, the National Minimum Wage Bill for South Africa is illustrated and comparatively assessed. It is discussed whether the essential elements and socio economic conditions are considered adequately in the Bill. Moreover, problematic provisions are identified and the need for certain amendments is argued. Conclusively, the dissertation takes an overall positive view on the Bill and promotes a simple minimum wage legislation embedded in a collective bargaining system and supported by multiple policies.

With the move to a more market-oriented economy in China, there is evidence of increased inequality in the incomes earned by men and women. To explore this outcome, we turn to an aspect of Chinese society that is pervasive in both economic and social contexts, namely, the Chinese variant of social capital, guanxi. It appears that in an imperfect labour market characterised by frictions, such as restricted mobility, costly job search, and limited employment alternatives, the cultivation of guanxi is important in reducing these transaction costs. The notion that investing in social capital can enhance an individual's opportunities leads to the development of a theory of discrimination that may explain the gender inequalities accompanying marketisation in China, and might be more generally relevant. The model of earnings discrimination is premised on imperfect product and labour markets. Under these conditions, we show that differential wages for similarly productive workers is a profit maximising outcome for firms. We apply this theory in an attempt to explain the trend of increasing gender inequality in earned income in urban China during the current reform period. First, pre-labour market gender inequality is investigated through developing a model of parental investment in children's human capital to discern whether there are productive differences between men and women prior to entering employment. In 1995, household expenditure on children's education is affected by perceived future earnings differentials and support of parents in retirement. Regarding labour markets, an original survey designed to test our model of social capital was administered in urban China in early 2000 and pertained to 1999. We find that there are differences between men and women in their investment in guanxi that correspond to gender inequalities in earned income and rates of re-employment. Both empirical chapters provide evidence in accordance with the predictions of the theory.

Ce travail constitué de trois chapitres cherche à analyser l’impact du salaire minimum sur l’économie des départements français d’Amérique en se limitant aux effets sur la distribution des revenus et la croissance économique.Dans le premier chapitre, l’accent est mis sur les inégalités salariales telles qu’elles existent aux Antilles-Guyane, en comparaison avec la situation en France métropolitaine. Les inégalités de revenus restent fortes entre les catégories socioprofessionnelles dans les DFA. Le salaire moyen de l’ensemble des salariés de France métropolitaine est supérieur à celui des DFA.Le second chapitre présente tout d’abord les aspects historiques et réglementaires qui caractérisent le salaire minimum français et celui d’autres pays d’Europe. Le SMIC se classe en quatrième position parmi les salaires minimum les plus élevés d’Europe, et la France, le pays développé comptant la plus forte proportion de salariés au SMIC. Dans les Départements Français d’Amérique, les salariés payés au SMIC, bien plus nombreux en proportion qu’au niveau national, sont le plus souvent des femmes, des jeunes, des personnes peu qualifiées occupant un emploi à temps partiel dans les secteurs des services et du commerce. Il met également en évidence les effets du salaire minimum et de ses revalorisations sur la formation des salaires et le coût du travail. Les effets de diffusion du SMIC sont faibles et temporaires, variant de 0,1 à 0,2% tant en approche macroéconomique que microéconomique. Les hausses du SMIC entraînent une augmentation du coût du travail pour partie compensée par les allègements de charges octroyés aux entreprises.Le troisième chapitre contribue à la mise en lumière des interactions entre le salaire minimum, la croissance économique et la pauvreté dans la société Antillo-guyanaise. Il s’avère que le dynamisme de l’économie insulaire est loin d’avoir gommé tous les écarts de niveau de vie entre les DFA et la France métropolitaine, malgré l’alignement du salaire minimum et des prestations diverses. La simulation sur les données de l’enquête Budget de famille 2006 montre que la proportion de salariés au SMIC est faible dans le bas de l’échelle des revenus. Ces salariés sont répartis sur l’ensemble de l’échelle des niveaux de vie. Le SMIC occupe une place relativement importante dans le revenu disponible des ménages, y compris dans le haut de l’échelle des revenus.En conclusion, le niveau élevé du salaire minimum dans les départements français d’Amérique conduit au maintien d’un grand nombre de salariés payés au voisinage du SMIC. En dépit des allègements de cotisations sociales abaissant le coût du SMIC, les départements d’outre-mer demeurent des régions fortement touchées par le chômage et la pauvreté. De plus, les inégalités salariales se sont accrues entre les individus les plus modestes et les plus aisés de ces régions. La montée du chômage est un facteur aggravant de cet accroissement des inégalités. Si en effet, les résultats de notre étude permettent d’affirmer que le SMIC n’est pas le meilleur instrument pour lutter contre les inégalités salariales et la pauvreté, ils soulèvent en même temps la question d’un SMIC DOM en lien avec les conditions et capacités réelles des économies ultramarines
This work consists of three parts seeking to analyze the impact of minimum wages on the French departments of America's economy by limiting the effects on the distribution of incomes and economic growth.In the first chapter, the focus is an overview of income inequality as they exist in the Antilles and Guiana, in comparison with the situation in France. Income inequalities remain high between occupational groups in the DFA. The average salary of all employees in mainland France is higher than the DFAThe second chapter first presents the historical and regulatory aspects that characterize the French minimum wage and that of other European countries. SMIC is the fourth highest minimum wage in Europe, and France developed country with the highest proportion of employees the minimum wage. In the French Departments of America, employees paid the minimum wage, many more in proportion than at national level, are most often women, youth, low-skilled people employed part-time in the service sectors and trade. It also highlights the impact of the minimum wage and its revaluation on the formation of wages and labor costs. SMIC diffusion effects are small and temporary, varying from 0.1 to 0.2% in both macroeconomic and microeconomic approach. The increases in the minimum wage lead to higher labor costs partly offset by expense reductions granted to companies. The third chapter contributes to highlighting the interaction between the minimum wage, economic growth and poverty in the Antillean-Guyanese society. It turns out that the dynamism of the island economy has all but erased all living differentials between overseas departments and metropolitan France, despite the alignment of the minimum wage and various benefits. The simulation on data from the 2006 survey of “Budget of families” shows that the proportion of employees with the minimum wage is low in the bottom of the income scale. These employees are spread over the entire scale of living. SMIC has an important place in household disposable income, including the top of the income scale.In conclusion, the high level of the minimum wage in the French departments of America led to the maintenance of a large number of employees paid near the minimum wage. Despite cuts in social security contributions lowering the cost of SMIC, departments remain areas with high unemployment and poverty. Moreover, wage inequality increased between the poorest and the wealthiest individuals in these areas. Rising unemployment is an aggravating factor of the increase in inequality. Since the results of our study make it possible to affirm SMIC is not the best tool to fight again wage inequalities and poverty, they also raise the question of a SMIC DOM linked with the real conditions and capacities of the overseas economies

In this thesis, I study the impact of minimum wage policy and city agglomeration on wages and employment in local labour markets. This is an important topic because having a better understanding of the determinants of regional wage differentials and employment offers insights into: the roles played by local production, consumption and city structures; the standard of living enjoyed by workers with different human capitals; and policy recommendations for the future minimum wage law and city planning regulations. I use local occupation and geographic information to assess how highly productive occupations and local consumption amenities sort workers and generate local wage differentials. I also use this information to construct instruments that enable the accurate estimation of the effects of policy interventions. After an introduction in chapter 1, chapter 2, The Impact of the Minimum Wage on the Wage Distribution: Evidence from China, provides an empirical estimation of the effects of minimum wages using a Chinese household survey. I introduce new instrumental variables, relating to transport costs and local productivity, to control for the potential median wage endogeneity. The instrument variable regressions indicate that the effective minimum wage, defined as the ratio between the minimum wage and the median wage, significantly reduces the lower tail wage inequality — measured by the wage differential between the 50th and the 10th percentiles— by up to 0.3 per cent. In chapter 3, The MinimumWage and Its Impact onWage and Employment, joint work with Coen Teulings, we propose a novel framework for estimating the effects of minimum wages by considering the neoclassical wage and labour participation equations at the same time. To estimate the non-linear censored model with correlated error terms, we provide a five-step procedure and use maximum likelihood estimation. After correcting the bias using occupation information and city size, we find that effective minimum wage correlate significantly with the proportion of workers earning below minimum wage. I study the structure of city and commuting in chapter 4, Consumer City and the Sharing Economy. Based on the international trade literature, I develop a theoretical model with multiple cities, which have different amenities and productivities. In equilibrium, the unobservable parameters are estimated using local employment, wage, and commuting information. Cities show strong agglomeration effects in both productivity and consumption amenities. A counterfactual technological improvement, providing a cheaper transportation for workers and consumers, leads to a more concentrated employment distribution, commuting pattern and higher utility. In the final chapter, Agglomeration and Sorting, joint work with Coen Teulings, we show that agglomeration externalities are strongly related to the occupational structure. At the same time, regional differences in house prices offset these externalities. We develop a multi-region model with regional heterogeneity in workers and jobs, tradable versus non-tradable commodities, consumption amenities, regional house prices, non-homothetic utility, and interregional labour mobility. The model fits the regional data on the fixed wage effects, the return and mean level of human capital, land prices, and the city-rural area distinction well. We use land values to calculate the value of agglomeration.

Orientador: Anselmo Luís dos Santos
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia
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Resumo: A partir de uma retrospectiva histórica da trajetória do salário mínimo no Brasil, observamos que, com exceção do período compreendido entre 1951 e início da década de 1960 - pré-golpe de 64 -, ocorreram recorrentes perdas do seu poder aquisitivo. Na fase recente, ainda que o movimento favorável do piso mínimo tenha dado o primeiro sinal já em 1993 e efetivamente iniciado em 1995, com a consolidação do Plano Real e a estabilização da moeda, foi no pós 2003 que se inaugurou uma fase particularmente distinta. A subida ao poder de um governo com estreita ligação junto ao movimento sindical e mais aberto ao diálogo e às reivindicações das centrais sindicais, a inflação relativamente controlada e a reativação da economia, em 2004, foram condições essenciais para a mudança na forma de conduzir a questão. No início do novo governo ainda era forte o discurso contrário aos mecanismos de regulação e proteção do trabalho, em especial do salário mínimo. Apontavam-se os impactos indesejados sobre as contas públicas, além de possíveis efeitos inflacionários, e crescimento do desemprego e informalidade. Contudo, havia um crescente debate de oposição a esse discurso, o qual indicava o fraco desempenho econômico como um dos principais obstáculos a uma efetiva política de recuperação do poder de compra do mínimo. Argumentava-se a necessidade de criar condições para a retomada do crescimento da economia, emprego e renda, modificando a estratégia de condução da política macroeconômica, abrindo caminho para uma maior formalização do mercado de trabalho, aumento da massa salarial, e elevação da arrecadação previdenciária e das contribuições sociais, reduzindo, assim, os possíveis constrangimentos de uma política consistente de recuperação do salário mínimo. Tal interpretação foi reforçada pelas principais Centrais Sindicais, as quais se organizaram num movimento unitário em 2004, reivindicando a urgência de um critério permanente de valorização do piso nacional. O objetivo do presente trabalho é fazer uma análise da evolução da política de valorização do salário mínimo neste contexto da retomada da atividade econômica, no governo Lula, bem como avaliar seus impactos para uma grande maioria de trabalhadores, sobretudo aqueles da base da pirâmide social, com rendimentos muito próximos do piso mínimo
Abstract: From a historical trajectory of the minimum wage in Brazil, it is observed that, except for the period between 1951 and the early 1960s - before the 64 coup d'état - recurring losses of the purchasing power occurred. Recently, although the movement in favor of the minimum wage gave its first sign back in 1993 - and actually started in 1995, with the consolidation of the Real Plan and the stabilization of the currency - it was after 2003 that a particularly distinct period was inaugurated. The rise to power of a government closely linked to the union movement, and more open to dialogue and the demands of the unions, the relatively controlled inflation and the reactivation of the economy, in 2004, were essential conditions for the change on the way of leading the issue. At the beginning of the new government the speech contrary to the mechanisms of regulation and protection of labor was still strong, particularly concerning the minimum wage. The undesired impacts on public accounts were pointed out, as well as possible inflationary effects and increasing unemployment and informality. However, there was a growing debate in opposition to this discourse, which indicated the poor economic performance as one of the main obstacles to an effective recovery policy of the minimum wage purchasing power. They argued the need of creating conditions for the resumption of economic, employment and income growth, by changing the strategy of macroeconomic policy, clearing the way for a greater formalization of the labor market, increased wages, and raising funds for the pension system and social contributions, thus reducing the possible constraints of a consistent minimum wage recovery policy. Such interpretation was reinforced by the major Central Trade Unions, which organized a unitary movement in 2004, claiming the urgency of a permanent recovery criterion of the national wage floor. The aim of this study is to analyze the evolution of the policy of valuing the minimum wage in this context of renewed economic activity, under Lula government, and assess its impacts on a large majority of workers, especially those from the base of the social pyramid, with incomes very close to the minimum wage
Mestrado
Economia Social e do Trabalho
Mestre em Desenvolvimento Econômico

Orientador: Carlos Salas Paez
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia
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Resumo: De acordo com (CSO-LFS 2012), o governo da República da Zâmbia formula políticas empregatícias para melhorar as relações e condições de trabalho. Essas políticas também têm como objetivo reduzir a pobreza através da criação de empregos decentes para os cidadãos (CSO-LFS 2012). Para que as políticas sejam relevantes, o governo realiza avaliações econômicas através de diversos meios, como a condução de pesquisas sobre a força de trabalho (LFS), monitoramento das condições de vida (LCMS), monitoramento da performance econômica e outras iniciativas socioeconômicas relacionadas. Além disso, o governo também promove a educação para seus cidadãos uma vez que está consciente de que uma força de trabalho instruída e essencial para o desenvolvimento econômico (CSO-LFS, 2012). O fomento ao investimento local e estrangeiro em vários setores é também uma importante política que qualquer governo deveria implementar tendo em vista a criação de empregos decentes e redução da pobreza. Como argumenta Amartya Sem, o crescimento econômico se dá através do desenvolvimento das capacidades. De acordo com (Layard 2004; Offer 2006; Wilkinson and Picket 2010), o crescimento do PIB tem se mostrado uma referência inadequada do progresso social a parece exercer pouco ou nenhum impacto no bem-estar social. Essa visão é amparada pela noção de "desenvolvimento como liberdade" de Sem, que implica que as pessoas só desfrutam de liberdade genuína quando ela é baseada na segurança econômica e social. De acordo com o painel de especialistas na Comissão de Mensuração do Desempenho Econômico e Progresso social nomeado por Nicolas Sarkozy, ex-presidente da França, os termos de referência não aceitam que os cidadãos se adaptem às exigências da economia, mas sim que a economia seja remodelada para servir aos interesses dos cidadãos. De acordo com `Failure of a Model¿ de Ron Blackwell e David Coates, um estado democrático deve permanecer como um agente econômico indispensável, fornecendo serviços públicos de qualidade, desempenhando o papel de regulador, preparando o palco para os agentes econômicos e intervindo (através de políticas fiscais ou monetárias) de modo a acalmar os impulsos especulativos ou controlar uma recessão (ILO - IJLR, 2012). Também existe, como Tim Page coloca em seu trabalho, um forte argumento a favor da implementação e desenvolvimento por parte do governo de políticas industriais ativas, através da criação de marcos regulatórios claros, que forneçam capital que não venha diretamente do mercado aberto para o investimento. Por exemplo, US$ 750 milhões foram captados no mercado de capitais em 2012 para a realização de programas governamentais que visavam melhorias nas estradas públicas e na infraestrutura ferroviária, com o objetivo de alavancar o desenvolvimento social e econômico na Zâmbia
Abstract: According to (CSO-LFS 2012), the Government of the Republic of Zambia formulates employment and labour policies to improve workers¿ and employers¿ labour relations and employment conditions. These policies are also aimed at reducing poverty by the creation of decent jobs for the citizens (CSO-LFS 2012). In order to make relevant policies, the Government carries out assessments on the economy through various means such as conducting the Labour Force Surveys (LFS), Living Conditions Monitoring Surveys (LCMS), economic performance monitoring programs and other related socioeconomic initiatives. In addition, the Government also promotes education for its citizens as it realizes that an educated labour force is essential for economic development (CSO-LFS, 2012). The promotion of both local and foreign investment in various sectors is also an important policy any government should implement with a view to creating decent jobs and reduce poverty. As Amartya Sen has opined, economic growth has to be for the purpose and the most straightforward way of characterizing that goal is to say that citizens must be able to acquire the capabilities and that they need to choose lives that they have reasons to value (Sen, 1999). According to (Layard 2004; Offer 2006; Wilkinson and Picket 2010), measured increase in DGP has been seen to be inadequate benchmark of social progress and appears to have little or no impact on either happiness or life satisfaction. This view is supported by Sen¿s notion of `development as freedom¿, which entails that people can enjoy genuine liberty only insofar as it is based on economic and social security. According to the panel of experts on the Commission for Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress appointed by Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, the terms of references for the committee of experts was that the objective is not to accept the world as it is and adapt citizens to the demands of the economy, but to reshape the economy to ensure that it serves the interest of the citizens. According to the `Failure of a Model¿ by Ron Blackwell and David Coates, as part of policy activism, a democratic state must remain as an indispensable actor in the economy, playing a role of providing quality public services and as a regulator, setting the stage for market actors and intervening (either through fiscal or monetary policy) in order to cool a speculative boom or halt a recession (ILO - IJLR, 2012). There is also, as Tim Page makes in his paper, a strong case for government to develop active industrial policies by setting clear regulatory frameworks, providing capital for investments that will not be funded on the open market. For instance, the 2012 Zambia¿s US$ 750 million Euro Bond" which was sourced from `Wall Street¿ capital market for public works programmes (PWP), is meant to improve inter alia; public roads and railway infrastructure in order to help stimulate economic and social development in Zambia
Mestrado
Economia Social e do Trabalho
Mestre em Desenvolvimento Econômico

O objetivo proposto deste estudo é analisar o processo de determinação do salário mínimo no Brasil de forma a encontrar a relação entre a determinação do salário mínimo e variáveis políticas e institucionais no Brasil. A hipótese do estudo é de que os aspectos institucionais referentes à participação da sociedade civil na fixação do salário mínimo e o contexto político envolvido em sua determinação são relevantes para explicar os movimentos do salário mínimo real ao longo do tempo. À medida que o bem-estar do eleitor mediano é levado em consideração, os aspectos institucionais e políticos condicionam a decisão do governante, de forma que a variação do salário mínimo não pode ser entendida como sendo exclusivamente relacionada a aspectos econômicos. Foi realizada uma análise do comportamento do salário mínimo real entre 1940 e 2012. A série de tempo apresentou instabilidade ao longo do período e, por meio de um exercício econométrico, foram identificados seis pontos de quebra estrutural que resultaram em sete patamares distintos de valor do salário mínimo. A análise das quebras fornece um primeiro indicativo de que os aspectos políticos e institucionais são relevantes na determinação do salário mínimo. Foi estimado um modelo de regressão que aponta evidências de que a variação do salário mínimo no Brasil é influenciada pela ideologia do partido no poder, pela melhoria nas instituições democráticas e pela regra formal de fixação do salário mínimo. Outras evidências que apontam uma correlação negativa entre a variação do salário mínimo real com a variação da proxy para o nível de desemprego e com a variação da proxy para elasticidade da demanda por trabalho são também encontradas. Além disso, as evidências assinalam que a determinação do salário mínimo tem relação com a restrição orçamentária do governo a partir da vinculação do salário mínimo aos benefícios previdenciários em 1988 e, também, que a política de salário mínimo foi utilizada como mais um componente das políticas de combate à inflação entre 1965 e 1994.
The objective of this work is to analyze the Brazilian minimum wage fixing process. The hypothesis is that institutional aspects referred as the formal rules for minimum wage fixing and the political environment are relevant for understanding the Brazilian real minimum wage behavior over time. In taking into consideration the medium voter welfare, institutional and political aspects influence the politician’s decision, in which the minimum wage variation cannot be understood as being related solely to economics issues. An analysis of the real minimum wage behavior between 1940 e 2012 has been made. The time series has presented instability over the period and a econometric exercise has found six breakpoints that result into seven different levels of minimum wage values. The breakpoint analysis offers a first sign that political and institutional aspects are relevant in minimum wage fixing. To test the hypothesis, a regression model has been estimated. It presents evidences that the minimum wage variation is influenced by parties’ ideologies, improvements in democratic institutions, and by the formal rules for minimum wage fixing. Other evidences are also found that show a negative correlation between the minimum wage variation and variations of the proxy for the level of unemployment and of the proxy for labor demand elasticity. Besides, it seems to be a relationship between the minimum wage determination and the government budget constraints after 1988 – when the minimum wage was linked as a minimum earnings to retirement pensions – and, also, that the minimum policy between 1965 and 1994 was used as component of economic policies to restrain inflation.

This thesis analyzes the pecuniary aspects of education in Turkey. It consists of three essays. The first essay deals with the demand for education, focusing on private tutoring expenditures of households. The study investigates the determinants of private tutoring expenditures of households using a Tobit model as the estimation method. It is found that wealthier households with higher levels of parental education are more likely to participate in private tutoring. The second essay concerns the wage inequality in the male wages in 1994 and 2002. The study found that the differences in the educational attainment levels are a major determinant of wage inequality. However, returns to education declined at each school level from 1994 to 2002. Wage inequality is also found to exist within the same educational categories. The study shows that differences in returns to the same level of education at distinct points of wage distribution became more pronounced in 2002 compared to 1994. Secondary schooling is found to benefit the least able more compared to those positioned in the middle quantiles of ability distribution. The last study in this thesis attempts to elucidate the determinants of self-employment versus wage employment choice and earnings in the two employment states. The study concludes that financial wealth and risk factor are important determinants of self-employment activity. As the educational attainment levels of individuals increase, the likelihood of becoming self-employed decrease. Education increases the earnings of both self-employed and wage earners. However, education returns are higher for the sub-group of wage employees compared to self-employed.

Mexico, one of the world’s largest economies and an increasingly relevant actor in international affairs, is at a crucial point in defining its future policy course. Given the uncertainty surrounding the global economy, as well as the political situation in Mexico, it is important to have a clear vision for policy going forward. This thesis offers a foundation for a national economic strategy with a long-term vision, upon which future administrations can build as appropriate to maximize on the country’s economic potential. The task is undertaken through a three-part approach. First, a thorough and analytical overview of the country’s economic history provides context and lessons from which to learn. Second, key economic issues to be addressed are identified through an evaluation of the current context and economic outlook. Finally, an evaluation of successful policy implementation, domestically and abroad, provides a basis that can be adapted to address the issues identified as they affect Mexico. The result is a series of six policy recommendations along two axes aimed at tackling the aforementioned key issues. These recommendations are by no means exhaustive, nor are they meant to be. The expectation is that they may serve to align national policy to global economic trends, underlying a plausible strategy to realize Mexico’s productive potential.

O propósito desta tese consiste em estimar o efeito da educação sobre os salários no Brasil. Utiliza-se, o número de escolas em cada estado no ano de nascimento do indivíduo como instrumento para lidar com o problema de endogeneidade da variável educação. É feita também uma descrição histórica das principais políticas educacionais e suas mudanças, que afetaram a educação brasileira desde Dutra até Figueiredo. Os resultados mostram que a variável número de escolas no ano de nascimento tem uma relação positiva com a probabilidade de escolarização, sendo que as gerações de Geisel e Médici têm uma menor probabilidade de escolarização do que as de Figueiredo. Os resultados apontam para uma diminuição significativa dos retornos à educação quando utilizamos o método de variáveis instrumentais.
The aim of this dissertation is to estimate the impact of education on wages in Brazil We use the number of schools in the state and year when the individual was born as instruments for his education level. We also make a historical description of the main educational policies which affected the Brazilian education system since president Dutra´s term until president Figueiredo´s. The results show that the number of schools in the individual´s year of birth bears a positive relationship with his education, and that the cohorts born during the Geisel and Médici´s terms had lower education than in Figueiredo´s. The main results show that the returns to education decrease quite substantially when the method of instrumental variables is used.

Dans la première partie, la thèse analyse l'effet de la législation relative à la protection de l'emploi sur les flux de travailleurs (embauches, licenciements, démissions, changements d'emploi) dans les pays de l'OCDE. Les résultats suggèrent qu'une régulation plus contraignante diminue le taux de réallocation au sein du même secteur et les transitions d'un emploi à un autre, en particulier vers des emplois permanents. En revanche, une régulation plus restrictive n'a pas d'effet significatif sur les séparations impliquant un changement de secteur ou une perte d'emploi. La possibilité de réintégration en cas de licenciement abusif semble être le déterminant le plus important.La deuxième partie contribue au débat sur le salaire minimum en Europe en apportant de nouvelles données sur les pays où les salaires sont fixés au niveau sectoriel en les comparant avec les pays où le salaire minimum est fixé au niveau national. Les résultats montrent que les systèmes avec des minima sectoriels sont associés à un salaire minimum relativement plus élevé que les systèmes dotés de salaire minimum national, mais cela va de pair avec davantage de travailleurs rémunérés en dessous des minima en vigueur.La troisième partie estime l'effet de la diversité sur la productivité et les salaires en Belgique et en France. Les résultats montrent que la diversité en termes d'années d'éducation est bénéfique pour la productivité et les salaires alors que la diversité d'âge est nuisible. Bien que la diversité de genre génère des gains importants dans les secteurs à forte intensité technologique, le résultat inverse est obtenu dans les industries plus traditionnelles ou dans les firmes non familiales
In the first part it analyses the effect of employment protection legislation on worker flows, i.e. the rate of worker reallocation, in OECD countries. Findings suggest that the more restrictive the regulation, the smaller is the rate of within-industry job-to-job transitions, in particular towards permanent jobs. By contrast, it finds no significant effect as regards separations involving an industry change or leading to non-employment. The extent of reinstatement in the case of unfair dismissal appears to be the most important regulatory determinant.The second part revisits the debate on minimum wages in Europe bringing new evidence on systems without a statutory minimum wage and comparing them with countries with a statutory one. Results show that systems with bargained sectoral-level minima are associated with higher Kaitz indices than systems with statutory floors, but also with more individuals actually paid below prevailing minima. Higher collective bargaining coverage can to some extent reduce this trade-off between high wage floors and non-compliance or non-coverage. The third part brings some evidence on the effect of diversity on firm productivity and wages in Belgium and France. Findings show that educational diversity is beneficial for firm productivity and wages while age diversity is harmful. Gender diversity is found to generate significant gains in high-tech/knowledge-intensive sectors or in family firms, while a negative effect is found in more traditional industries or in non-family firms

Mestrado em Economia e Políticas Públicas
Uma avaliação temporal assume-se como essencial para averiguar a relevância do Salário Mínimo Nacional (SMN) no emprego em Portugal. A estimação de um modelo econométrico de Vetor Autorregressivo (VAR) possibilita testar a correlação e causalidade entre as diferentes variáveis, permitindo concluir, com algum grau de fiabilidade, acerca dos resultados alcançados. Os resultados obtidos neste trabalho podem indicar que a correlação entre as variáveis em análise é relativamente baixa, o que, potencialmente, pode significar que apesar do SMN ter aumentado ao longo dos últimos anos e a taxa de desemprego ter vindo a diminuir, não existe uma relação de causalidade relevante entre ambos. O mesmo acontece no caso do consumo privado, atividade económica e inflação, cujas respostas são não significativas face a impulsos do SMN. Desta forma, o aumento do SMN não parece ter um efeito positivo, ou negativo, nos níveis de emprego em Portugal.
A time-framed analysis is essential to assess the relevance of the minimum-wage (SMN) to employment in Portugal. The estimation of an Vector Autoregressive (VAR) econometric model gives the possibility to test the correlation and causality between different variables, allowing to take reliable conclusions concerning the achieved results. The results obtained in this study suggest that the correlation between the analysed variables is relatively low, wich might mean that the rise of the minimum wage over recent years and the fall of the unemployment rate are not correlated. This is also true for the levels of private comsumption, economic activity and inflation rate, which respond non significantly to impulses in the minimum wage. As such, the rise of the minimum wage does not seem to have a positive efect in the rise of the employment levels in Portugal.
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The three essays in this dissertation progressively answer the following questions: (a) How important are constraints? (b) Who benefits from removing constraints? (c) When does a constraint for a single market predominantly affect closely related markets? These questions are applied in the context of time, weather, and minimum wage constraints, respectively. The first essay demonstrates that constraints matter. A data envelopment analysis capacity utilization methodology is used to measure impacts on sales from a sequential relaxation of the time and income constraints. Using a subsample bootstrap to estimate confidence intervals, results show that time matters more than income, particularly in fall and winter when other activities compete for gardening time. The second essay shows that the poor are least likely to gain from the relaxation of non-income constraints. A theory of demand is developed in which consumers face multiple constraints. Then, a structural model is used to econometrically estimate the effect of global warming on demand, using nursery data on flowering plants. The model shows that there exists a tipping point around 64 degrees Fahrenheit, above which demand ceases to be climate-constrained. The third essay shows that a constraint in a single market can sometimes have more profound consequences on other, more distantly related markets. First, it is proven that if a series of markets are structured like a chain-- where only own and neighboring prices matter--then a shock to one market decreases with distance. The case of minimum wages in Oregon is investigated using a large panel dataset for all workers in Oregon using a first difference econometric model. It is determined that the ripple effects of the minimum have even larger effects on higher-wage earners, disconfirming the chain pattern. High substitutions between low and high wage groups may explain the pattern. Altogether the essays further the understanding of constraints to demonstrate that (a) constraints significantly affect economic outcomes, (b) if one constraint is lifted, those individuals alternately-constrained are left behind from any benefits, and (c) constraints to a single market may have unintended and sometimes larger effects on 'farther' markets.
Graduation date: 2012

Wong, Pui Hang.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-61).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- Characterizing Illegal Immigrants --- p.2
Chapter 1.2 --- Job Displacement --- p.5
Chapter 2 --- Minimum Wage Unemployment --- p.10
Chapter 2.1 --- The Basic Model --- p.11
Chapter 2.2 --- The Effect of Illegal Immigration --- p.14
Chapter 2.2.1 --- The Solow Model --- p.15
Chapter 2.2.2 --- The Decentralized Ramsey Model --- p.21
Chapter 3 --- Frictional Unemployment --- p.26
Chapter 3.1 --- The Basic Model --- p.27
Chapter 3.1.1 --- The Economy with Illegal Migrants --- p.32
Chapter 3.2 --- Productivity Effect --- p.36
Chapter 3.2.1 --- Comparative Statics --- p.38
Chapter 3.2.2 --- Unemployment --- p.40
Chapter 3.3 --- Exploitation Effect --- p.41
Chapter 3.3.1 --- A Simulation Example --- p.47
Chapter 3.4 --- Immigration Controls --- p.48
Chapter 3.4.1 --- Workplace Sanction --- p.49
Chapter 3.4.2 --- Deportation & Border Patrol --- p.53
Chapter 4 --- Conclusion --- p.56

The government identified the small business sector as an important variable in sustainable economic growth and employment creation. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of minimum wage regulation and employment protection policies on the unemployment statistics of South Africa. Unemployment is an aspect that needs attention to assist with long-term sustainability of growth. The questionnaire was distributed to approximately 20 000 small business owners in South Africa and 1239 responded. Of the 1239 responses, 900 could be used. The research propositions were that employment protection legislation relates to a decrease in job creation and minimum wages relates to higher unemployment. The third proposition is an assumption made in the event that the first two propositions were proved correct. These propositions were proved incorrect.
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

Yes
Ireland’s selective system of collective agreed minimum wages has come under significant pressure in recent years. A new fast-food employer body took a constitutional challenge against the system of Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) and this was strengthened by the discourse on the negative effects of minimum wages as Ireland’s economic crisis worsened. Taking a historical institutional approach, the article examines the critical juncture for the JLC system and the factors which led to the subsequent government decision to retain but reform the system. The article argues that the improved enforcement of minimum wages was a key factor in the employers’ push for abolition of the system but that the legacy of a collapsed social partnership system prevented the system’s abolition.

Chow Shing Yuk.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-66).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter Chapter 2: --- Literature Review --- p.4
Chapter 2.1 --- First-Generation Studies --- p.4
Chapter 2.2 --- Second-Generation Studies --- p.5
Chapter 2.3 --- Third-Generation Studies --- p.7
Chapter Chapter 3: --- Empirical Methodology --- p.13
Chapter 3.1 --- Fixed Effect Estimation --- p.13
Chapter 3.2 --- Within-twin Differencing --- p.14
Chapter 3.3 --- Adjustment for Measurement Errors --- p.15
Chapter 3.4 --- Value of Within-twin Differencing --- p.16
Chapter Chapter 4: --- Data Descriptions --- p.29
Chapter 4.1 --- Twins Data --- p.29
Chapter 4.2 --- Non-twins Data --- p.32
Chapter Chapter 5: --- Empirical Results --- p.35
Chapter 5.1 --- Cross Sectional Results: Twins Sample --- p.35
Chapter 5.2 --- Within-twin Differencing --- p.42
Chapter 5.3 --- Cross Sectional Results: Non-twins Sample --- p.45
Chapter 5.4 --- Female Results --- p.48
Chapter Chapter 6: --- Conclusion --- p.50
Tables --- p.52
Appendix l: Some Other Thoughts on Marriage Premium --- p.60
References --- p.64

Recent studies in water management policy point to insufficient recognition of water as a scarce commodity and the failure of pricing policies to account for the full economic costs of its production and supply. These costs include opportunity costs related to alternative uses of water; user costs associated with managing a scarce resource; and costs of externalities such as ground water depletion, pollution of waterways, and greenhouse gas emissions. Existing cost recovery based pricing policies may lead to inefficiencies such as excess consumption, under-investment in water infrastructure, and unnecessary subsidisation. Water scarcity can be managed in several ways. We can increase supply by investment in additional harvesting capabilities or new technologies such as desalination; we can constrain consumption so that existing supplies last longer; or we can use water in more efficient ways. As a short term measure, most countries adopt water restrictions when supplies are at critical levels. In the future, as urban population growth continues, harvesting of storm water and reuse of grey water may become part of a sustainable water management strategy. Water trading can be used to move water to where the marginal benefits are highest. Considerable water savings are possible through the use of more efficient industrial and domestic appliances. There is evidence in some countries that higher water tariffs have reduced consumption and promoted awareness of conservation. If we accept that water is an economic good, then we need to understand the costs related to its production, the patterns of its use, and the benefits received by different users. This thesis is an examination of theoretical and applied aspects of urban water pricing based on analysis of cost, demand, and welfare. We present theoretical models of cost that include economies of scale as a parameter, and a model of water demand by households with heterogeneous preferences. We determine marginal cost at the efficient level of output based on a partial equilibrium of supply and demand. We also show that when water is produced with increasing returns to scale, the efficient price will be insufficient to recover all costs, and therefore a form of second best pricing is required. We contrast conventional notions about water suppliers being cost minimisers with an alternative frontier model of cost efficiency. Two case studies examine the provision of water services under different forms of ownership. The first case study examines the provision of water to domestic households in the state of Victoria, Australia. The second case study examines the supply of water to the residents of Manila, one of the world’s largest cities that privatised its water service in 1997 under a form of concession agreement. A third case study derives an efficient cost frontier for a sample of water utilities from Asia and Australia and proposes a form of best practice pricing. The thesis concludes with a summary of the main results and policy conclusions, and ideas for future research.
http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1289196
Thesis (PhD) -- School of Economics, 2007

利用“甘肃基础教育调查(The Gansu Survey of Children and Families, 2007)提供的数据，以特征工资理论(Hedonic Wage Theory)为基础，本研究建构了一个从个人特征和岗位特征两方面解读甘肃农村公办教师工资差异形成机制和潜在后果的解释框架。
本研究利用科学抽样的微观数据，以特征工资理论的投资假说和消费假说为基础，探讨甘肃农村教师收入差异的前因后果。运用多层线性技术对“特征的逐层分解凸显了环境结构变量对教师工资的层次性影响。研究的主要内容如下：(1)教师个人特征和教职岗位特征在工资及差异结构中的影响性质和强度；(2)工资和包括工作条件及生活环境在内的教职岗位特征在教师职业效用中的替代性及其办学成本意义；(3)地区政策与教师工资差异格局及其教育财政涵义。
通过对甘肃这个边远贫穷地区农村教师工资进行微观计量分析，本研究得出如下主要结论：
教师个人特征和教职岗位特征均是工资差异来源的主成因素。个人特征和岗位特征在收入差异形成过程中分别对应特征工资理论之投资性收益和消费性补偿。一方面，个人素质越高，收入越高；另一方面，与优越的岗位环境相联系的是更低的工资收入。换言之，艰苦的条件对应补偿性工资差异。
工资与教职岗位环境特征在教师职业效用偏好结构中具有替代性。岗位环境与工资的替代率介于-0.03和0.05间。负值代表教师愿意接受较低的工资以换取更优越的工作环境和社区设施，即为在某优越的县(区)工作而承受的工资损失。因此，教学条件和生活环境更艰苦的边穷地区需提供等效用的经济补偿才能保证师资质量。
出于经济补偿的考虑，扶贫政策比边远艰苦地区津补贴方案更有效地鉴别了岗位环境的恶劣程度。贫困地区的教学条件和生活环境更艰苦，由此带来的心理负效用反映在消费性补偿中。与“贫困相联系的不良岗位属性产生的负效用折合成工资约15%。
结合教师偏好和地区政策，更边远艰苦或贫困地区可以通过教师工资成本指数的形式，将额外聘用成本加权到教育财政预算中，以实现均衡发展和社会公平。国贫县聘用一名同等质量的普通合格教师，边际成本高于平均水平10%。但办学成本与边远艰苦等级的关系没有固定规律：更边远的三类地区招聘一名教师的成本只相当于平均水平的74%；而二类地区则需多花3.6-11.8%的附加成本。
本研究的政策启示包括：
第一，边远艰苦地区政策和扶贫政策的针对性不同。虽然边远艰苦地区津补贴政策所鉴定的县(区)地理属性可能具有重要的公共财政意义，但扶贫政策有更明显的区分度，可提供更清晰的教育财政政策启示。
第二，将原始资源禀赋等外部不可控因素造成的额外人员开支纳入财政方案中，并以教师工资成本指数的形式提升其预算等级，是保障各地师资配置从而实现教育均衡和机会均等的公平而有效方法。
Based on the Gansu Survey of Children and Families(GSCF, 2007), this thesis investigates the hierarchical effects of teacher personal characteristics and teaching job attributes as determinants of wages and sources of variations from the perspective of Hedonic Wage Theory.
Based on the Hedonic Wage Theory, this study has made use of a scientific sampled micro data set to analyze teacher wage disparities in rural Gansu, which is a typical less-developed northwestern remote province in Mainland China. Hierarchical Linear Modeling(HLM) is employed to study the regional effects. Major foci of this thesis consist of: (1)The nature and strength of economic values of teacher personal characteristics and teaching job attributes. (2)The substitution between pecuniary rewards from wages and non-pecuniary benefit derived from working conditions and living amenities, and its implications for teacher personnel costs. (3)How regional policies are related to teacher wage variations and what can government do to narrow the consequential gap in education service.
The conclusions of the study include:
Both teacher personal characteristics and teaching job attributes are major determining factors of wages. Human capital components proxying higher teacher quality are positively compensated, while better daily working and living conditions are paid in the form of lower wages. In other words, hardships are associated with compensating wage differentials.
Working conditions in schools and living conditions in community where the teaching position is located are substitutable with wages. The substitution between wages and job conditions varies from -0.03 to 0.05. Negative values mean that teachers are willing to accept lower wages to work in a better-off county. It costs more for hard-to-staff regions to recruit a comparable teacher.
In consideration of wage compensations, the “Helping the Poor policy can give a better indication than the “Subsidy to Remote and Difficult Districts Scheme. Dis-utilities from uncomfortable working and living environment in poor counties cost 15% extra wage expenditures.
Accounting for teacher utility preference, disadvantageous counties classified by economic-geographic features should be financially aided based on teacher cost index(TCI) to recruit and retain quality teachers. Simulation implies that counties labeled as “poor should be provided 10% more marginal personnel budget in order to hire an average teacher who meets the basic education requirements. However, fiscal assistances based on degree of remoteness do not show consistent patterns. The most remote counties can hire a comparable teacher at a cost of only 74% of the average, while those second most remote ones pay 3.6-11.8% more.
There are two major policy implications from the results of the study:
(1)The “Subsidy to Remote and Difficult Districts Scheme and the “Helping the Poor policy have different focuses. Though the former scheme may have public-goods considerations, the latter can give a clear and differentiative policy implication for education finance.
(2)It would be an equitable and efficient way to incorporate uncontrollable external factors into a teacher wage index(TCI), and to use it to adjust education financial strategies to these difficult areas.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
Detailed summary in vernacular field only.
馬紅梅.
Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2012.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 160-173)
Abstracts in Chinese and English.
Ma Hongmei.
Chapter 第一章 --- 研究问题与背景 --- p.1
Chapter 第一节 --- 问题陈述 --- p.1
Chapter 一、 --- 研究问题 --- p.1
Chapter 二、 --- 研究目的 --- p.3
Chapter 三、 --- 研究意义 --- p.5
Chapter 第二节 --- 研究背景 --- p.7
Chapter 一、 --- 现实背景 --- p.7
Chapter 二、 --- 政策背景 --- p.12
Chapter 第三节 --- 论文结构 --- p.25
Chapter 第二章 --- 文献综述 --- p.27
Chapter 第一节 --- 特征工资理论的内容概要 --- p.27
Chapter 一、 --- 特征二因素主张 --- p.28
Chapter 二、 --- 特征的双重补偿 --- p.29
Chapter 三、 --- 职业效用最大化 --- p.32
Chapter 第二节 --- 特征工资理论之消费假说 --- p.33
Chapter 一、 --- 消费性补偿的工资理论 --- p.33
Chapter 二、 --- 消费性补偿经济学分析 --- p.34
Chapter 三、 --- 消费性补偿的现实意义 --- p.39
Chapter 第三节 --- 教师工资特征性补偿综述 --- p.44
Chapter 一、 --- 研究概况 --- p.44
Chapter 二、 --- 教师特征 --- p.47
Chapter 三、 --- 教职特征 --- p.48
Chapter 第四节 --- 教师工资分解的研究启示 --- p.50
Chapter 一、 --- 国外文献 --- p.51
Chapter 二、 --- 国内文献 --- p.52
Chapter 第三章 --- 研究设计 --- p.56
Chapter 第一节 --- 研究方法 --- p.56
Chapter 第二节 --- 数据描述 --- p.60
Chapter 一、 --- 数据来源 --- p.60
Chapter 二、 --- 样本信息 --- p.61
Chapter 第三节 --- 变量界定与分布 --- p.64
Chapter 一、 --- 因变量：教师月工资 --- p.65
Chapter 二、 --- 自变量：个人特征和岗位特征 --- p.68
Chapter 第四节 --- 研究架构 --- p.85
Chapter 一、 --- 分析结构 --- p.85
Chapter 二、 --- 模型界定 --- p.86
Chapter 第四章 --- 教师工资差异的形成机制 --- p.89
Chapter 第一节 --- 教师工资的影响因素 --- p.89
Chapter 一、 --- 教师个人特征：主导因素 --- p.89
Chapter 二、 --- 教职岗位特征：关键因素 --- p.90
Chapter 三、 --- 小结：决定教师工资的双重特征 --- p.91
Chapter 第二节 --- 基于教师个人特征的投资性收益 --- p.92
Chapter 一、 --- 解释变量：人力资本特征 --- p.92
Chapter 二、 --- 控制变量：个人背景特征 --- p.97
Chapter 三、 --- 小结：教师个人特征对工资的影响 --- p.103
Chapter 第三节 --- 基于教职岗位特征的消费性补偿 --- p.104
Chapter 一、 --- 学校实时工作环境 --- p.104
Chapter 二、 --- 县(区)社区人居环境 --- p.111
Chapter 三、 --- 小结：教职岗位特征对工资的影响 --- p.117
Chapter 第四节 --- 本章小结 --- p.119
Chapter 第五章 --- 国家政策对教师工资的影响 --- p.125
Chapter 第一节 --- 地区政策与教师工资 --- p.125
Chapter 一、 --- 边远艰苦地区政策与教师工资 --- p.125
Chapter 二、 --- 国家扶贫政策与教师工资 --- p.131
Chapter 三、 --- 小结：边穷地区政策与教师工资 --- p.134
Chapter 第二节 --- 地区政策的教育成本意义 --- p.136
Chapter 一、 --- 教师人员成本指数的建构 --- p.136
Chapter 二、 --- 边穷属性的成本指数 --- p.138
Chapter 三、 --- 小结：边穷地区政策的教育成本意义 --- p.143
Chapter 第三节 --- 本章小结 --- p.145
Chapter 第六章 --- 结语 --- p.148
Chapter 第一节 --- 主要实证结果 --- p.148
Chapter 一、 --- 教师工资差异的影响因素：个人特征与岗位特征 --- p.148
Chapter 二、 --- 教师工资差异的形成机制：特征性双重补偿 --- p.149
Chapter 三、 --- 边穷地区政策与教师工资的关系：消费性补偿 --- p.151
Chapter 四、 --- 地区政策的教育财政意义：教师工资成本指数化 --- p.152
Chapter 第二节 --- 政策启示 --- p.153
Chapter 一、 --- 教育财政意义 --- p.153
Chapter 二、 --- 完善地区政策 --- p.154
Chapter 第三节 --- 研究总结 --- p.155
Chapter 一、 --- 研究贡献 --- p.155
Chapter 二、 --- 研究不足 --- p.157
Chapter 三、 --- 研究展望 --- p.158
参考文献 --- p.160
附录 --- p.160

This dissertation examines how firm-specific behavior concerning factors of production is shaped by institutional constraints in development countries. The initial two chapters analyze how firms in Brazil compensate workers for their labor: the first centers on the role of the collective bargaining framework, and the second quantifies the impact of firms on the racial wage gap. The final chapter focuses on firms' use of credit for working capital in response to disruptive periods of violence during Mexico's Drug War. Firms compensate workers not only with wages, but also with other job characteristics that the labor literature broadly refers to as amenities. However, it is hard to study amenity compensation because we rarely observe variation in amenities across establishments in some systematic way. One exception is the comprehensive set of amenities codified in the text of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that unions negotiate with employers. In chapter 1, I leverage a reform that automatically extended all existing CBAs in Brazil to analyze the impact of this new collective bargaining framework on firm compensation, as measured by wages and amenities, as well as subsequent selection effects in the workforce. To quantify the value workers place on amenities secured by unions, I measure how textual elements in CBAs influence an establishment's ability to poach workers from other employers, conditional on wages, using data on the universe of CBAs merged with an administrative linked employer-employee dataset. I find that automatic extensions increase compensation by 1.6-3.8% when unions are strong---an effect that is driven by additional amenities whose value more than offsets foregone wage gains. These changes in compensation lead to an increase in hiring concentrated among low-skill workers, implying an elasticity of labor supply to the affected firms of around 2. Further evidence suggest that unions reduce compensation inequality within establishments. While union-driven changes to firm compensation can lead to an influx of low skill workers, how firms select and pay workers can have important consequences for wage disparities between groups. In Chapter 2 (work co-authored with François Gerard, Edson Severnini, and David Card), we measure the effects of firms' employment and wage setting policies on racial pay differences in Brazil. We find that nonwhites are less likely to work at firms that pay more to all race groups. This sorting pattern explains about 20% of the white-nonwhite wage gap for both genders. Moreover, the pay premiums offered by different employers are also compressed for nonwhites relative to whites. This within-firm differential wage setting contributes another 5% of the overall gap. We then explore to what extent the under-representation of nonwhites at higher-paying firms is due to the selective skill mix at these workplaces. Using a counterfactual based on the observed skill distribution at each firm and the nonwhite shares in different skill groups in the local labor market, we conclude that assortative matching accounts for about two- thirds of the underrepresentation gap for both men and women. The remainder reflects an unexplained preference for white workers at higher-paying firms. Interestingly, the wage losses associated with unexplained sorting and differential wage setting are largest for nonwhites with the highest levels of general skills. This suggests that the allocative costs of race-based preferences may be relatively large in Brazil. The first two chapters reveal that firms exercise some discretion over compensation and hiring within the context of institutions such as collective bargaining and nondiscrimination laws. But firms are also constrained by other institutions in how they carry out their day-to-day activities. In particular, the capacity of the State to exercise control over the legitimate use of force promotes the fundamental trust required between agents to make welfare-enhancing transactions. In Chapter 3, I analyze how drug-related violence affects credit use by micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Leveraging administrative data on working capital credit lines issued to MSEs in Mexico, I exploit geographic variation in homicide rates as well as exogenous kingpin captures to identify the causal effects of violence on credit use. I find that firms significantly increase the amounts drawn from their credit lines after experiencing violence shocks. More credit use could be motivated by rising short-term liquidity needs (distress story) or increasing risk of holding cash (substitution story). Rising default probabilities indicate signs of distress, although heterogeneity analyses reveal cash-for-credit substitution among non-revolving borrowers. I also find evidence that rising liquidity needs among distressed MSEs are likely driven by decreased economic activity rather than theft or extortion. As such, this paper highlights the important role that financial products play in terms of helping firms absorb violence shocks as well as providing safe alternatives to cash holdings under insecure environments.

The thesis offers new paradigms for advancing socio-economic rights in Africa. Many States Parties to human rights instruments have failed to promote the common welfare of their citizens partly because of the justiciability debate, which continues to complicate intellectual and practical efforts at advancing socio-economic rights. The debate also prevents the normative development of these rights through adjudication. Furthermore, traditional human rights theory and practice have been state-centric, with non-state actors largely ignored in the identification, formulation, and implementation of human rights norms. Yet, the involvement of non-state entities in international arena has limited states' autonomies considerably, with serious implications for human rights. Transnational Corporations (TNCs) have capacities to foster economic well-being, development, tenchnological improvement, and wealth, but they also often cause deleterious human rights impacts through thei employment practices, environmental policies, relationships with suppliers and consumers, interactions with governments, and other activities. The thesis argues that socio-economic rights are normative and justiciable. It argues that traditional approaches are no longer sufficient to secure human rights and calls for a dismantatling of some structures erected by doctrinal systems; for realignment of relationships among social institutions; and for integrated bundles of fundamental interests that harness benefits of human rights norms and widen the landscape to commit both formal and informal regimes. Fashioning out a new paradigm for advancement of socio-economic rights requires addressing state capacity. It requires an integrative and global interpretive framework. It requires, finally, a new paradigm to commit non-state actors in Africa. The illustrative chapter uses the rights to work and to social security as templates for some prescriptions towards reaslising socio-economic rights in Africa.
Jurisprudence
LL.D.

South African households are concerned with their financial wellness. This is evident through the recent social unrest, violent labour strikes and protest against government policies such as the demand for free higher education. The South African government’s redistributive policy to transfer funds from the financially well to the increasing number of financially unwell households are narrowing as the financially well households are declining in proportion to the total households. It is palpable that the situation is critical and decisive intervention is needed from the South African government, the private sector and labour unions. The main objective of this study was to investigate the main differences between households on the bottom end of the wealth spectrum compared to those on the top end in order to identify differentiating characteristics of the various groups in order to suggest targeted policy recommendations for the South African government to improve stability and increase the number of financially well households. In order to achieve this objective, the study was done in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a traditional literature review where the balance sheet composition and characteristics across disaggregated households on a local and international level was examined. The purpose of phase 1 was to gain insight into the trends and characteristics of different categories of households internationally and in South Africa. Phase 2 consisted of secondary data analysis which was performed in three sub-phases. In sub-phase 2.1 the household balance sheet was used to determine the per asset and liability class contribution to total assets and liabilities for each of the disaggregated financial wellness categories. Each asset and liability class component was ranked according to its contribution percentage within each of the financial wellness categories. The outcome of the ranking highlighted differences in the asset and liability classes’ contribution to total assets within each financial wellness grouping. Sub-phase 2.2 evaluated the optimality of the household balance sheet composition of a financial wellness category in relation to the next financial wellness category by making use of game theory. The last sub-phase (2.3) iv examined possible reasons, through correlation, for the sub-optimality found in phase 2.2. The results of the study indicated differences in each financial wellness category asset and liability compositions in the household balance sheet. Age, gender and number of household members did not affect household wealth in this study. In contrast, income level, employment status, home ownership, education and marital status affected household wealth. Game theory indicated that the highest financial wellness category (Anchored Well) did not have the strongest balance sheet. Possible reasons were identified as the composition of financial assets.
Accounting Sciences
M.Phil. (Accounting Science)

Li Yan.
Thesis submitted in: September 1998.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 47-48).
Abstract also in Chinese.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.i
ABSTRACT --- p.ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii
LIST OF TABLES --- p.v
Chapter
Chapter I --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1
Chapter II --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.5
Chapter 2.1 --- Different Approach to Estimate the Rate of Return to Education --- p.5
Chapter 2.2 --- Age-Cohort Analysis --- p.8
Chapter 2.3 --- Gender Earning Gaps and Decomposition of Wage Differentials --- p.9
Chapter III --- DATA DESCRIPTION --- p.13
Chapter 3.1 --- Data and Methodology --- p.13
Chapter 3.2 --- Education Attainment of Males and Females of Different Cohort --- p.15
Chapter 3.3 --- Monthly Earnings of Individual with Different Educational Level --- p.17
Chapter IV --- REGRESSION ANALYSIS FOR THE RETURNS TO EDUCATION AND THE GENDER EARNING GAPS IN HONG KONG --- p.18
Chapter 4.1 --- Determinants of Monthly Earnings and the Returns to Education --- p.18
Chapter 4.2 --- Returns to Education with respect to Marrage and Age Cohorts --- p.22
Chapter 4.3 --- The Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition --- p.23
Chapter V --- MULTINOMIAL LOGIT ANALYSIS FOR THE RETURNS TO EDUCATION AND THE GENDER EARNING GAPS IN HONG KONG --- p.28
Chapter 5.1 --- The Occupational Distribution --- p.28
Chapter 5.2 --- The Gender Earning Gap across Occupations --- p.31
Chapter 5.3 --- Multinomial Logit Model and the Effect of Educational Attainment --- p.32
Chapter 5.4 --- Prediction of a Nondiscriminatory Occupational Structure for Female --- p.35
Chapter 5.5 --- Occupational Segregation and the Brown et al. Decomposition Method --- p.36
Chapter VI --- POLICY IMPLICATIONS --- p.43
Chapter VII --- SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS --- p.45
REFERENCES --- p.47
TABLES --- p.49

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is one of the factors that can influence the growth and development of the economy of a country, but on the other hand, it could have a negative effect if not regulated properly by the host country. States must ensure that FDI is properly regulated in the best interests of the country and the foreign investor itself. South Africa has reviewed its foreign investment legal framework and during this process, it terminated most of its bilateral investment treaties that previously regulated foreign investment in the country. In turn, it introduced the Protection of Protection of Investment Act that regulates both domestic and foreign investment. This study analyses the way in which national and international investment law affect FDI inflow and the economy of South Africa. The study also deals with the determinants of foreign investment in the host country and the extent to which they have an influence on the inflow of FDI.
Public, Constitutional and International Law
LL. M.