Leonardo Fabio Morales, Carlos Ospino and Nicole Amaral
We examine the effect of increasing online job vacancies on labor market efficiency in the context of a developing country. The findings suggest that the rise in online job…
Abstract
We examine the effect of increasing online job vacancies on labor market efficiency in the context of a developing country. The findings suggest that the rise in online job vacancies has enhanced labor market efficiency by improving the match between job seekers and employers. This hypothesis is supported by an increase in the hiring and net employment growth rates. The study shows a reduction in the vacancy rate in segments of the labor market, with a significant share of vacancies posted online, after implementing a policy requiring firms to report vacancies to the Public Employment Service in Colombia. The results from a Beveridge Curve estimation imply a 1.2 percentage point (pp) decrease in the vacancy rate for a given unemployment rate and increments in the hiring and employment growth rates of 1.1pp and 1.3pp after the policy change, respectively. These results support the notion that policies to reduce information barriers can improve labor market performance.
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Nicolae Stef and Anthony Terriau
We investigate how firing notification procedures influence wage growth. Using a sample of 33 countries over the period 2006–2015, we show that administrative requirements in…
Abstract
We investigate how firing notification procedures influence wage growth. Using a sample of 33 countries over the period 2006–2015, we show that administrative requirements in cases of dismissal have a positive and significant effect on wage growth. The result is robust even after controlling for the endogeneity of the firing notification restrictions, the involvement of third parties in the wage bargaining process, the minimum wage, the firms' training policy, and the composition of employment. These findings suggest that firing notification procedures foster the growth of wages by increasing the bargaining power of incumbent workers.
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Nicole M. Fortin, Thomas Lemieux and Neil Lloyd
This paper uses two complementary approaches to estimate the effect of right-to-work (RTW) laws on wages and unionization rates. The first approach uses an event study design to…
Abstract
This paper uses two complementary approaches to estimate the effect of right-to-work (RTW) laws on wages and unionization rates. The first approach uses an event study design to analyze the impact of the adoption of RTW laws in five US states since 2011. The second approach relies on a differential exposure design that exploits the differential impact of RTW laws on industries with high unionization rates relative to industries with low unionization rates. Both approaches indicate that RTW laws lower wages and unionization rates. Under the assumption that RTW laws only affect wages by lowering the unionization rate, RTW can be used as an instrumental variable (IV) to estimate the causal effect of unions on wages. In our preferred specification based on the differential exposure design, the IV estimate of the effect of unions on log wages is 0.35, which substantially exceeds the corresponding OLS estimate of 0.16. This large wage effect suggests that RTW may also directly affect wages due to a reduced union threat effect.
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John T. Addison and Paulino Teixeira
Using data from the 2013 European Company Survey, this chapter operationalizes the representation gap as the desire for greater employee involvement in decision-making expressed…
Abstract
Using data from the 2013 European Company Survey, this chapter operationalizes the representation gap as the desire for greater employee involvement in decision-making expressed by the representative of the leading employee representative body at the workplace. According to this measure, there is evidence of a substantial shortfall in employee involvement in the European Union, not dissimilar to that reported for the United States. The chapter proceeds to investigate how the size of this representation gap varies by type of representative structure, information provided by management, the resource base available to the representatives, and the status of trust between the parties. Perceived deficits are found to be smaller where workplace representation is via works councils rather than union bodies. Furthermore, the desire for greater involvement is reduced where information provided the employee representative on a range of establishment issues is judged satisfactory. A higher frequency of meetings with management also appears to mitigate the expressed desire for greater involvement. Each of these results is robust to estimation over different country clusters. However, unlike the other arguments, the conclusion that shortfalls in employee involvement representation are smaller under works councils than union bodies is nullified where trust in management is lacking.
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Joo-Young Park and Dong-One Kim
This paper examines the role of cultural values measured as collectivism, face-saving, and conflict-avoidance, in predicting employee voice behavior. Using data (n = 198…
Abstract
This paper examines the role of cultural values measured as collectivism, face-saving, and conflict-avoidance, in predicting employee voice behavior. Using data (n = 198) collected from automotive-industry employees in the United States (US) and Korea, several interesting findings emerged. First, and most notably, for a “leaver” who chooses the exit option, culture does not matter, such that none of the three cultural values have a significant association with the exit option across countries. Second, for a “stayer,” who chooses the voice, loyalty, or neglect option, culture does matter in that cultural-specific values, such as collectivism, face-saving, and conflict-avoidance were found to affect employees nonexit options in the Korean sample, but not in the U.S. sample. The results of this study suggest that these three cultural values guide and predict employee voice behavior. Additionally, the results of this study confirm that job alternatives are a significant predictor of the exit option across cultures. This study therefore presents strong empirical evidence of the effect of culture on employee voice behavior and increases our understanding of employee voice behavior across cultures.
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Fabio Berton, Stefano Dughera and Andrea Ricci
In this chapter, we propose a theoretical assessment of the relationship between unions and investments. We develop a simple model where a firm chooses its investment level…
Abstract
In this chapter, we propose a theoretical assessment of the relationship between unions and investments. We develop a simple model where a firm chooses its investment level anticipating the employee's effort choice and the outcome of wage bargaining. First, and consistently with the holdup view, we find that the union's bargaining power has a negative effect on the accumulation of fixed capital. Second, we show that this negative effect is mitigated by the voice ability of unions to ease the displeasure of exerting effort. Hence, when the voice ability of unions is strong vis-à-vis their bargaining power, the holdup view does not necessarily survive, and unionized firms invest more than their nonunionized competitors.
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John T. Addison, Paulino Teixeira, Philipp Grunau and Lutz Bellmann
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of key labor institutions on the occurrence and extent of temporary employment.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of key labor institutions on the occurrence and extent of temporary employment.
Design/methodology/approach
In a new departure, this study uses a zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) model given that most establishments are non-users of either fixed-term contracts (FTCs) or temporary agency workers.
Findings
This study examines the potential impact of works councils and unions on the use and intensity of use of FTCs and temporary agency work. There is a little indication that these variables are correlated with the use/non-use of either type of temporary work, especially in the case of FTCs. Collective bargaining displays different relationships with their intensity of use: a negative association for sectoral bargaining and FTCs and the converse for firm-level bargaining and agency temps. Of more interest, however, is the covariation between the number of temporary employees and the interaction between works councils and product market volatility. The intensity of use of agency temps (FTCs) is predicted to rise (fall) as volatility increases whenever a works council is present. These disparities require further investigation but most likely reflect differences in function, with agency work being more directed toward the protection of an arguably shrinking core and fixed-term contacts encountering resistance to their increased use as a buffer stock. The two types of temporary employment are seemingly non-complementary, an interpretation that receives support from the study’s further analysis of FTC flow data.
Research limitations/implications
The non-complementarity of the two types of contract is the hallmark of this paper.
Originality/value
The first study to deploy a ZINB model to examine both the occurrence and incidence of temporary work.
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Pain is demonstrated as a complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon that is interdependent and connected between people. The author proposes that social scientists use a “total model”…
Abstract
Purpose
Pain is demonstrated as a complex, multi-dimensional phenomenon that is interdependent and connected between people. The author proposes that social scientists use a “total model” of pain to better understand pain epistemologically and ontologically and people’s “pain lives.” Through this model, and drawing from the author’s own research on mixed martial artists, new ways to conceptualize, study, and talk about pain within the sporting context have been outlined.
Design/Method/Approach
In the first part of this chapter, pain is discussed with respect to how it has been researched and understood within the fields of medicine, sport psychology, and the sociology of sport. In the second part of this chapter, the total pain model developed by Dame Cicely Saunders is explored as a revolutionary development for the ways in which pain is understood and treated within the health field. Lastly, the author proposes a reconstructed methodology for the study of pain.
Findings
Pain should be studied not from one tradition, but using an amalgamation of the medical, sport psychology, and sociology of sport traditions and perspectives. In this way, the many dimensions of the phenomenon, social, cultural, political, material/physical, spiritual, existential, emotional, and cognitive must be explored from all systems and languages of pain in order to achieve a more robust understanding of pain in sport.
Research Limitations/Implications
The dualistic relationship between theory and method currently present in most qualitative research does not fully account for the complexity of bodies in pain. Therefore, it is critical to adopt an interwoven methodological and theoretical approach that enables scholars to relate to, and feel with, people in pain.
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The aim of the paper is to investigate the effect of labor strength on stock price crash risk and related moderating mechanisms.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the paper is to investigate the effect of labor strength on stock price crash risk and related moderating mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
To examine the relationship between labor unions and stock price crash risk and, more importantly, whether corporate governance moderates this relationship. Ordinary least squares (OLS), two-stage least squares, cross-sectional analyses, industry-level regressions and firm-level regressions are conducted.
Findings
The results suggest a negative impact of labor union strength on stock price crash risk. Further analysis suggests strong corporate governance mechanisms may mitigate the increased stock price crash risk in less-unionized firms.
Originality/value
Labor unions have a long-term horizon in the firm and have strong incentives to monitor managerial opportunism. However, labor unions may also increase financial reporting opacity and collude with managers to gain bargaining power in labor negotiations. The authors’ finding suggests that labor union strength is negatively associated with stock price crash risk. This finding is consistent with the notion that labor unions curb managerial opportunism in information disclosure, resulting in reduced crash risk. More importantly, the authors find corporate governance mitigates the negative impact of reduced unionization on crash risk, providing empirical support for recent regulatory efforts to strengthen corporate governance to prevent stock market crash.
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Ahsan Habib, Dinithi Ranasinghe and Ying Liu
We aim to provide a systematic literature review of the determinants and consequences of labor investment efficiency in an international context. First, we offer a theoretical…
Abstract
Purpose
We aim to provide a systematic literature review of the determinants and consequences of labor investment efficiency in an international context. First, we offer a theoretical discussion of labor investment efficiency, followed by an examination of its measurement. Next, we review the determinants of labor investment efficiency, categorizing them into firm fundamentals including financial reporting quality, governance and controls, corporate social responsibility/environmental regulation and macroeconomic determinants. Finally, we review the limited empirical literature on the consequences of labor investment efficiency. We also provide some suggestions for future research.
Design/methodology/approach
We perform a systematic literature review using the Preferred Reporting Items for a Systematic Review of Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines to examine archival studies investigating the determinants and consequences of labor investment efficiency. Using a Boolean search strategy on the Scopus and PRISMA selection criteria, we review 86 published archival research articles from 2014 to the end of August 2024.
Findings
Our review highlights that firm-level fundamental factors including financial reporting quality have profound implications for labor investment efficiency. Effective governance mechanisms also help mitigate agency conflicts and information asymmetries and alleviate labor investment inefficiencies. Furthermore, the influence of regulations including ESG-related regulations and macroeconomic factors play a crucial role in shaping labor investment decisions. We find very little research on the consequence of labor investment efficiency.
Practical implications
Our review has highlighted that well-functioning corporate governance tools are effective in mitigating inefficient labor investments. Stakeholders, therefore, should ensure that firms have effective internal governance mechanisms in place and that external governance regulations complement and where necessary act as substitutes for internal governance mechanisms to optimize labor investments.
Originality/value
To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first systematic review of extant research on labor investment efficiency. Our review highlights some research gaps, particularly about the consequences of labor investment efficiency and offers some suggestions for future research.