Recent policies designed to promote profit sharingin Great Britain are surveyed. Evidence on theextent of profit sharing in Britain is presented,and the economic impact of such…
Abstract
Recent policies designed to promote profit sharing in Great Britain are surveyed. Evidence on the extent of profit sharing in Britain is presented, and the economic impact of such schemes is assessed. It is found that there is little strong evidence to support the notion that profit sharing significantly improves either employment, profitability, productivity, investment or remuneration.
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Changes in British industrial relations over the lastdecade are surveyed and their impact on economicperformance is analysed. The evidence on theeconomic effects of unions – on…
Abstract
Changes in British industrial relations over the last decade are surveyed and their impact on economic performance is analysed. The evidence on the economic effects of unions – on wages, employment, working conditions, negotiations and profits – is reviewed. Finally, comments are offered on likely future trends.
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Focuses on the approach to interpreting earnings equality found in the writings of a variety of economists and in particular, technological change and its effects on the demand…
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Focuses on the approach to interpreting earnings equality found in the writings of a variety of economists and in particular, technological change and its effects on the demand skill resulting in earning inequality. Argues that the evidence in favour of the technological effect is weak and presents some alternatives for further consideration.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the degree to which central bank policy errors made the credit crisis inevitable.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the degree to which central bank policy errors made the credit crisis inevitable.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper did this by first observing the increasing tolerance shown by policymakers over time towards major structural imbalances. It then discussed three distinct behaviours or policy errors, describing their form and impact.
Findings
The first error is to hold short‐term interest rates at excessively low levels for sustained periods of time. The second is the unintended consequence of long‐term borrowing costs being kept artificially low as current account surplus countries purchased dollar‐denominated bonds with their surplus funds. The final error related to the skewed regulatory incentives which heavily favoured debt finance over equity funding, thereby encouraging excessive leverage. The paper concludes that central bank behaviour does indeed make a credit crisis inevitable, although clearly the central banks cannot be held directly responsible for policy errors outside of their remit. Nevertheless, where central banks combined a regulatory role with the conduct of monetary policy, they clearly should have been more pro‐active in their oversight of the commercial banks.
Practical implications
The implications of the findings are serious inasmuch as there is little evidence that senior central bankers have altered their behaviour as a result of the crisis. There remains an elevated tolerance of structural imbalances and there has been no acknowledgement by central bank heads of their culpability, despite more junior central bankers being increasingly vocal on the subject. Clearly commercial bankers played an important part in the crisis, but the paper questions how realistic it is to expect them to modify their behaviour without suitable regulatory incentives.
Originality/value
The paper adds insight into the credit crisis and the role of the behaviour of central banks.
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The impact of working less hours on policy.
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB245052
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Marco Túlio Aniceto França, Gustavo Saraiva Frio and Mariza Bethanya Dalla Vecchia Korzeniewicz
The aim of this study is to evaluate the wage gap between men and women who seek self-employment in Brazil, whether because they want to become entrepreneurs out of necessity or…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to evaluate the wage gap between men and women who seek self-employment in Brazil, whether because they want to become entrepreneurs out of necessity or because of the flexible hours.
Design/methodology/approach
The data used are from the 2015 National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and the methods are the ordinary least squares (OLS) for the Mean and the unconditional quantile regression (RIF-regression) for the distribution of gains of both genders, both associated with the Oaxaca–Ransom decomposition in order to separate the differential between the part explained by attributes and the unexplained part.
Findings
The main results show that women earn less than men in the mean and throughout the distribution. The average difference is 27.79%, varying between 19.24 and 48.26% in the distribution. The inclusion of occupational variables shows that the glass door phenomenon exists even in self-employment, that is, women choose occupations with lower incomes.
Originality/value
Stimulating self-employment has been an alternative policy for the insertion of women in the labor market. This is the first study on the wage gap in self-employment in the Brazilian labor market. The presence of wage differentials among self-employed men and women throughout the distribution may point to the need for specific policies that not only target the mean. These policies would be related to sticky floor and to the glass ceiling. Another potential problem concerns the so-called glass door–women access the labor market via professions that pay less, otherwise, the problem points to occupational segregation against women.
Peer Review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2019-0312
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Stephen Lippmann, Amy Davis and Howard E. Aldrich
Nations with high levels of economic inequality tend to have high rates of entrepreneurial activity. In this paper, we develop propositions about this relationship, based upon…
Abstract
Nations with high levels of economic inequality tend to have high rates of entrepreneurial activity. In this paper, we develop propositions about this relationship, based upon current research. Although we provide some descriptive analyses to support our propositions, our paper is not an empirical test but rather a theoretical exploration of new ideas related to this topic. We first define entrepreneurship at the individual and societal level and distinguish between entrepreneurship undertaken out of necessity and entrepreneurship that takes advantage of market opportunities. We then explore the roles that various causes of economic inequality play in increasing entrepreneurial activity, including economic development, state policies, foreign investment, sector shifts, labor market and employment characteristics, and class structures. The relationship between inequality and entrepreneurship poses a potentially disturbing message for countries with strong egalitarian norms and political and social policies that also wish to increase entrepreneurial activity. We conclude by noting the conditions under which entrepreneurship can be a source of upward social and economic mobility for individuals.